


Mind To Mind, Heart To Heart

by deanandsam



Series: Telepathic Winchesters [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Sequel to Eye To Eye Soul To Soul, telepathic brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-03-25 02:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 26,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13824564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanandsam/pseuds/deanandsam
Summary: This is a second story about the now telepathically linked Winchester brothers, a sequel to' Eye To Eye, Soul To Soul.'The story still takes place in the second half of season six, after Sam gets his soul back but before his wall falls, and there are some changes made to the episode "Caged Heat" where instead of Crowley going along with the plan of pretending to die when a set of bones are burned by Castiel, he aborts the entire agenda. "Everything goes mostly AU afterwards.When you see §-§ instead of "-" it means the brothers are communicating telepathically.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One.

Prologue  
................................

Crowley's Lair

"What just happened back there," Castiel asked, his expression slightly sour, possibly the angel equivalent of being thoroughly pissed.

"I changed my plans, that's all," Crowley’s snarky voice declared.

"Without warning me? You were supposed to fake your death! You made me look like a fool, burning the wrong bones!"

Crowley shrugged.  
"It was a spur of the moment thing. It was a stupid idea anyway. I wanted my hands free. I don't like having to skulk in the shadows like some second-rate hell spawn."

"It was important, demon! The brothers are beginning be less open with me and I need to assure them of my loyalty,“ Castiel said.

"Assure them of your loyalty by staging that little bone-burning scene? Truth was, you were lying to them!" Crowley specified.

"Anyway, I've got no time for your whining. I've got Hell to run. If you wanted the Winchesters’ approval you should have told them the truth; that you and I are partners in your little plan to power up on souls, oust Raphael and conquer heaven for yourself!  
If they stay out of our hair, no problem. However, I will take a second to remind you of all those they HAVE taken out, from Azazel to Lilith to Lucifer, not to mention your angel buddies!" Crowley's voice rose in exasperation.

He calmed himself down and continued, "As long as Sam and Dean don't suspect anything, just let them go on bringing me alphas for my little zoo collection; the location of which I'm now going to have to change, as you were so considerate in showing them this one.  
The only good thing to come of this is that I've got a couple of my best demons on Meg's trail.  
She's too much of a wild card to leave on the loose. She could still gather any nostalgic Lucifer-loving demons around her and be a general pain in my ass.

This is what we'll do. I'll keep out of the Winchesters' way. I'll leave those tousle-headed cuties for you to deal with, Castiel. But I'm warning you, if they get a whiff that something's dodgy, they'll not stop till they've ferreted out the truth, and your little Heavenly take-over will no longer be a sure thing.  
If you want your crusade to succeed you should just kill them. That way the problem would be taken care of permanently!"

"I'm an Angel of the Lord and you are an abomination, a devil-spawn. I don't have to listen to a word you say, and you will certainly not give me orders. The Winchesters are my friends and I will not harm them; I’d sooner smite you!" Castiel rebuffed.

"Think what you want, angel. All this talk is making me thirsty!" The demon promptly disappeared leaving Castiel to ponder for the umpteenth time just what he had set in motion.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Anyone venturing into Singer's junk-yard on this unusually warm March day wouldn't have noticed anything out of the ordinary, just a young man intent on tinkering with the engine of a gleaming black Impala, parked in the shade of a shed cluttered with tools, dirty oil-rags and a variety of cannibalized parts of once classic cars.

Dean Winchester enjoyed working on the Chevy; it was refreshing just to be able to concentrate on his baby instead of fighting for his life against some supernatural creature.  
He and Sam had been at Bobby's for nearly two weeks now, partly because Bobby seemed glad of their company and overtly pleased to have them around, and partly because everything was unnaturally quiet on the hunting front; no omens, weird sightings or strange deaths.  
So Dean passed most of his time with his head under the hood of the Impala while his little brother immersed himself in the ancient tomes in Bobby's library. Sam had renewed his standing offer to catalogue the books but was treated to Bobby's standard "mess with my books, boy and you're a dead hunter "glare.

§ Dean! §  
§ Yeah, Sammy.§  
§ I've just stumbled on a book on ancient Veda rituals that had fallen down back of the old dresser in the corner of the library. Bobby couldn't even remember having it. § Sam's enthusiastic voice echoed in his mind.  
§ Wow, I'm real excited for you, geek boy! §

Sam huffed back at Dean's ironic tone.  
§ No need to huff and puff, Sam. The time has come for us to get our asses back on the road before you start to drive me nuts with your nerdy orgasms. §

 

His Baby was better than new, the sun was shining, the music was blasting out from the speakers, the black asphalt was beckoning to him and Sam was riding shotgun; everything was as perfect as it could ever be in Dean Winchester's world.  
At that moment, Dean accepted his lot. This is who he was; this was his life; this was where he was at his happiest. It was useless trying to pretend anything else was going to satisfy him.  
He turned his head towards his brother, the single most important person in his life.

§ Thanks Sammy! §  
§ For what, Dean? § Sam's surprised voice echoed in his mind.  
§ For existing, and for being my brother. §  
§ Dean…. I…Right back at you bro.§ And Dean vacillated at the wave of understanding, acceptance and love that Sam sent back through their link.

They found themselves using their mind-link more and more when they were alone, it was becoming easier than using their voices.  
Sometimes they wondered how they’d ever managed without it.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Bushville, Iowa.  
.......................  
Dean entered the motel room taking care not to disturb the salt line, bags of food in hand, only to find Sam in his usual position, hunched over his lap-top.  
§ Find anything interesting, Sammy? §  
§ Nah, it seems that every supernatural critter has decided to call it quits. It's pretty strange, Dean. §  
§ Well, look on the bright side, no poor sucker is getting clawed, strangled or eaten! §

Dean peeked over Sam's shoulder at the screen.  
§ Isn't that Dr. Visyak, Bobby's friend, the dragon lady? §  
§ Yeah, she's holding a seminar on Chimerical Creatures at a University not far from here. Why don't we go, Dean? We're doing nothing but sleeping and eating anyway. §

Sam turned his well-oiled, practically infallible, pleading puppy-gaze on his brother, well aware that spending hours in a crowded hall listening to a series of lectures wasn't Dean's idea of a fun way of passing the time.  
Dean didn't quite manage to turn away quickly enough, and the soft pleading eyes of his brother hit him full force.

" Are you still gonna be using those eyes to get your own way until you're a hundred? " Dean's voice reverberated loudly in, the up till now, silence of the room.  
" No, Dean. Just until you continue to cave! " came the unabashed reply.  
" Bitch!"  
"Jerk!"

Dean shook this head, accepting the fact that there was little he could deny Sam.  
The only time was when his little brother was hurt or in danger. Dragging Sam's ass to safety would always come before anything else, even the eyes!  
So that's how he found himself bored to tears in a crowded University Hall next to an engrossed Sam whose attention never wavered a second from the lecturer.  
§ Sammy. §  
§ What! §  
§ I have to take a leak. §  
§ What the Hell, Dean! I should care, why? §  
§ Okay, okay, sorry to interrupt! §  
"Wow," Dean murmured to himself, "he really must be interested- no bitch-face!"

Pushing open the outer doors, he made his way over to the Impala, breathing in the fresh evening air.  
"Hey, baby, we're gonna spend some quality time together until this bore-fest is over and Sam decides to call it a night."

He heard a rustling noise and turned around, nearly banging his face against Castiel who still couldn't seem to get his mind round the concept of "personal space"  
"Cas, what the hell! "  
"I am sorry, Dean. I did not mean to violate your space."

" Yeah, whatever! Is something up?"  
" No, Dean. I was nearby and I thought I would drop in to see if you and Sam were well."  
Dean looked at him as if he had sprouted an extra head, technically quite possible for an angel, he thought to himself. He seemed to remember the douche-bag Zachariah saying he had four.

" You thought you’d drop in?" repeated Dean sarcastically. "You hardly ever come when we call, unless we have a heavenly weapon sighting, and now you're making unsolicited house visits! Have you won your little war in Heaven or what!"  
" That is unfair, Dean. You know the affairs of Heaven need my constant attention. Are you and Sam here for a reason? Are you on a hunt? "  
"Nah, Sam needed to feed his geek addiction, it's never a good thing to leave him too long without a fix."

"I understand. Is he well? How is his wall holding. "  
"What's with all the questions, Cas?" Dean asked, curious now.  
"I was only trying to make conversation but as my presence does not seem to be appreciated, I will get back to my duties!"

"Cas, wait. I didn't mean to…." Dean found himself speaking vainly to empty air as the angel disappeared.

 

§ Dean! Are you okay? Is there something wrong? Where have you disappeared to? §  
§ I'm fine, Sasquatch. I've just had a very strange visit from Cas. I'll tell you all about it later. §  
§ Fine. Dr. Visyak is just about finish up here anyway. See you in ten.§  
TBC


	3. Chapter 3

§ Fine. Dr Visyak is just about finish up here anyway. See you in ten. §

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Fifteen minutes later Dean saw Sam hurrying towards him.  
§ Dean! Come over here! §  
§ Aw, Sam. Don't tell me they've prolonged the lecture! I am NOT going back in. §

§ No, Dean. I want you to introduce me to Dr Visyak. You broke her dragon sword. She's sure to remember you! §  
§ I'm sure she will, that's why she probably won't be happy to see me, Doofus! § Dean sent back through the mind-link.  
§ There she is, going towards her car. §

Dean wanted to shrug off Sam's gigantor hand which had wrapped itself around his arm, but he let himself be dragged over to the woman who was busy getting into her car.  
§ Dean! § Sam’s mind voice was as bitchy as his audible version   
§ Okay, okay. Stop the whining, Sasquatch §

"Doctor Visyak. Nice to see you again." Dean began.  
"Well, well, Winchester! Didn't expect to bump into you again so soon. Still in the business of destroying inestimably valuable artefacts!" she said, sarcasm dripping from her words.  
"Err, yeah, sorry about that, but Bobby's taking real good care of what's left."  
"Right, it's been nice meeting you again, Winchester. But if you don't mind I've got a deadline to meet." was her unimpressed reply.

§ Dean! Introduce me!§ Sam's mind-squawk nearly deafened him.  
"Er…. I don't think you've met my brother Sam. He wanted to congratulate you on your seminar."

Dr Visyak stopped and looked up towards the guy at Dean's shoulder.  
"Really?" she cocked her head.

Sam launched enthusiastically into his tirade. "I'm so pleased to meet you, Dr Visyak. Your lecture was very interesting and added a hitherto unknown batch of chimerical beings to the lore that is currently available. I was just wondering what your fonts were for these innovations. Would it be possible to have a copy of your notes and research? It would be really appreciated." He stopped and waited in hopeful anticipation.  
She took a moment to run her eyes over the tall handsome man at Dean's side.  
There was something about him that appealed to her, a feeling intensified by his entreating... puppy-like eyes.  
"I wouldn't mind feeding him some tit-bits!" she mused appreciatively.

§ Dude, she just totally cougared your ass! What is it with you and older women! § Dean's mind-voice echoed in Sam’s head.  
§ Shut up. Dean! She's Bobby's friend. §  
§ Yeah, so? Variety is the spice of life, Sammy!" § Dean's smirk came through loud and clear.

"I'm so glad you enjoyed my lecture, Sam, but I'm afraid I can't give you all of my fonts as some are, how can I say, rather private and not to be published, although very, very reliable. However, if you give me your email I’ll be happy to let you have what I can of my research."  
She got into her car and looked up at Sam before closing the door.  
"I must say it's very refreshing to have a young man like yourself so interested in my work. Your brother knows where I live. If you ever need any "individual tutoring" you know where to find me!"  
With that she raked a last appreciative glance over Sam, slammed the door and drove off.

 

§ You totally scored, little bro! I can just imagine the kind of research she would want to share with you! Those older gals just fall at your feet when you pull out the puppies! § crowed Dean.  
§ Shut up! Dean. Your mind runs on a one-way track. Sex, sex, sex! §  
§ That's not true, Sammy. I love pie, too! Aw, come on Sam. It's not my fault that it's so easy to piss you off! §  
§ Jerk! §

Sam huffed his way over to the Impala and folded himself into the passenger seat, intent on sending his contact info to Dr Visyak's mail.

Dean slipped in behind the wheel and turned to his brother.  
§ Earlier, while you were inside Cas showed up. §  
§ Why? Did you call him? §  
§ No. He just appeared wanting to know if everything was OK. §  
§ Dean, lately he only seems to appear, and grudgingly, when you pray him. He never shows up spontaneously unless he needs something from us. Doesn't it seem a little strange to you that he would just drop in for a visit? §  
§ Well, no-one can say that Cas was ever normal to begin with so I suppose he must have his reasons. §

Sam just nodded and went back to fiddling with his phone, but his sixth sense was telling him that things were far from normal.  
There was some flitting detail at the edge of his memory about Cas. Something he knew was important, but it hovered tantalizingly just out of his reach.  
To be honest, a part of him didn't want to probe too deeply, for Dean had alternately warned and pleaded with him not to try and remember things about his soulless year and his time in Hell in case his wall fell. But it was so annoying the way this little detail was niggling at him.

§ All that culture has made me hungry. You ready to eat, Sammy? § Dean's mind-voice broke in on his thoughts.  
§ Whatever you want, Dean. Lead the way. §

His attention, however, returned to Cas.  
TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Sam found himself unable to stop dwelling on the elusive detail concerning Castiel. It was hovering just outside his perception. Dean always maintained that Sam's geek brain could never relax. If it didn't have a problem to keep it occupied then it just wasn't happy.  
"Maybe he was right," Sam mused as he sifted carefully through his memories.

Dean had decided that tonight he was in the mood for a pizza, so they were currently sitting in Marco's Mediterranean Pizza Parlour at the kind of table they always picked out, one beside the back wall, which left them a good view of the door and was easily defendable should any "unexpected visitors" arrive.

"I'm starving dude, so I'm going for the biggest, toppiest pizza in the house." Dean declared enthusiastically, looking across at his brother, but Sam was lost to the world.  
"Sam, there are two wendigos walking into the joint with pink ballet shoes, white tutus, and long flowing blond hair." Dean declared poker-faced, waiting for a reaction.  
"Um. Yeah, cheese topping is fine Dean." came the distracted reply.  
§ Sammy! §

"Dude, what's going on with you? You've hardly opened your mouth since we left the lecture hall and you’d probably still be sitting here brooding if those two wendigos really had walked in!"  
"Two wendigos in here! What on earth are you talking about, Dean?" Sam frowned confused.  
"Okay. Forget everything!" Dean huffed, rolling his eyes. "God, it's like dealing with a two-year old! Let's start from scratch. Just where are you zoning out to, because you're certainly not listening to anything I'm saying!"

Sam averted his eyes, well aware that his brother would be pissed to know he was going all out to try and remember the damn elusive detail about Castiel, but Dean understood his brother too well, and this roaming around in each other's mind had only increased his understanding of his sibling.

"Sam, you're trying to remember potentially wall-breaking details, aren't you? You can't leave well alone, can you' You've always been a stubborn little bitch." Dean's words were harsh, but his eyes were full of concern for his brother.  
He was terrified of what could happen if the darn thing came down.

§ Dean. Don't get mad. Come and look at my wall. I know you can see it in my mind. If you notice any cracks, I'll just let go and forget about it, but if it's still intact I want to keep trying to remember this thing about Cas. It's just too important. §  
§ You're trying to remember something about Cas, but why? § Dean's voice echoed in surprise.

§ Dean, if I knew, I wouldn't be trying to remember, would I? §  
Sam's mind-voice was light and teasing. He was trying to calm his big brother down and avoid an all-out argument.  
§Trust me, for once, Dean. §  
§ Sam, this isn't a question of trust. There's nobody that I trust more than you, and you know it. Okay. Let's have a look at the wall. §  
Dean examined the construction. It looked intact and there didn't seem to be any cracks.  
He exited his brother's mind and sighed. "Everything seems to be alright. It looks solid enough."

Sam took pity on his worried brother and decided that whatever the memory was, it could wait until he and Dean polished off their pizzas, and so he devoted his full attention to keeping his big brother happy.  
He kept up a steady stream of chatter about Dr Visyak's lecture, and accepted the whole range of cougar teasing that Dean threw at him, with all the eye rolling and bitch-facing that was expected.  
Strangely enough he thoroughly enjoyed the evening with his brother and he realised, much as Dean had done not many hours before, that this was what made him happy; simply being with his big brother, having his back and sharing this unique telepathic gift which had been bestowed upon them.

He was no longer that eighteen-year old kid who’d thought running from his family was going to make him happy.  
If he could go back, he’d do it all differently. He’d never have left Dean on his own, with no back up, no-one to tend to his wounds or to simply bring him a drink of water.  
His heart ached when he thought of how, if he'd stayed with his family, Jess would still be alive, perhaps a career woman or a wife and mother.  
That was on him alone. He’d all but murdered her.

§ Stop it, Dude. You didn't kill her. Brady and Azazel did. Stop feeling guilty for something you weren't responsible for. We've had this conversation already. How many times are we gonna have to repeat it. § Dean's voice entered potently into his mind.  
§ Thanks Dean. §  
§ For what, Sammy. I hope this is the last time I'm gonna have to say it, although I doubt it! You didn't deserve any of it, dude, not the demon blood, not the hunting life, not the visions and certainly not the hundred and eighty years in the Cage. So enough! §

Dean called the waitress over for the bill and the brothers exited together towards the third member of their family, the ever loyal Impala, their only true home.  
Specks of their DNA had been scattered throughout her interior as they had grown, cried, eaten and slept in her, and were now melded into the leather seats and carpets.  
She was a true Winchester in every sense of the word.

As Sam expertly folded his long limbs into the car, he finally remembered what he’d been trying so hard to bring up.  
The memory hit him with a clarity that surprised him, but left him chilled and fearful as to what it might mean.  
"Dean! I've remembered!"

Taking his place behind the wheel, Dean turned expectantly to his brother, a half-smile on his face.  
"Well. Was it worth all the heart-searching you put into it?"

Dean's voice was light, he was expecting Sam to spout some trivial thing that Cas had done or gotten wrong in his usual naïve manner.

"He pulled me out of the Cage," Sam mouthed quietly, knowing he was setting the cat among the pigeons.  
His brother's hand stopped half way to the ignition, key in hand.

"What are you saying Sam? Crowley pulled you out of the Cage!" Dean's voice was no longer easy-going, a hard edge making itself heard.

"No, Dean. It was Castiel." Sam insisted.  
TBC


	5. Chapter 5

"No way! When Crowley took the merit for dragging you out of the Cage, Cas didn't contradict him. If it was him, why not say so? Why would he let us go on believing a lie? And why would he drag you out without your soul?"

Sam's simple statement about the angel had brought to the surface too many questions, all of which Dean wasn't sure he wanted answers to. If what his brother said was true, then the consequences were unthinkable.

Sam gave his brother a moment to assimilate what he’d told him, well aware of his sibling’s friendship with the angel and truly sorry to heap more problems onto Dean's shoulders, but he was certain of what he was saying.

"Dean, not more than fifteen minutes ago you said there was no-one else you trusted as much as me. Does that only hold true when it suits you?" Sam asked quietly.  
Sam's wide, soulful eyes locked gazes with Dean's incredulous ones, and Dean was the first to lower them, reading in their depths the truth about what Castiel had done.

There were very few times that Dean was left speechless. He leaned forward and rested his head on the steering wheel as if to drain off comfort and new energies from his Baby.  
Sam placed an understanding arm on his sibling's shoulder. He didn't want to intrude on Dean's mind; he wanted to give him time to get his coping mechanisms in place first.

Unfortunately, that wasn't all he had to tell Dean about Castiel.  
After a few moments, Dean lifted his head and leaned back in the seat as if to compose himself.  
"Cas lied to us; but why?" Dean left the question hanging in the air.

He turned towards his sibling.  
"Let's just go over what we know now, Sammy. After Stull Cemetery..." Dean's voice wavered, the anguish he’d felt then colouring his words,"... I went to Lisa's, and...uh…..Cas... pulled you out of the Cage, soulless, practically at the same time. You went off with Samuel and hunted with him for the entire time I was with the Braedens. After that year and a half, why did you come to me, Sam?" he asked curiously.

"I don't really know," Sam answered tiredly.  
"The only thing I was interested in back then was hunting. It felt as if I was isolated in some kind of bubble with no desire or need for anything outside killing monsters. I was aware of the fact you were still with Lisa, but it didn't seem to be important." Sam faltered, knowing just how hurtful the words were for Dean, but he continued gamely on.  


"Then when Samuel got wind that the Djinn were coming after you and me both, he sent me to stake out the house.  
When I saw you, I won't lie and tell you that I suddenly wanted to hunt and be with you again, but I felt something flowering inside me, and the more I was with you the more I wanted to stay. I knew something wasn't right with me, and that I didn't feel as I should've towards you, but I just didn't have the perception to know what was wrong.  
Well, you know the rest! Good old Soulless Sammy! " he finished bitterly.

§ Sam! Stop it! §  
Dean sent a wave of sympathy and love into his sibling's mind.  
§ That's all in the past. We're together now; we practically live inside each other's minds and we are NOT going to be separated again! Ever! You got that, College Boy? §  
§ Little brothers always pay attention to their big brothers. § Sam sent back teasingly.

§ I wish! You're the poster boy for doing the opposite of what I say. When have you and your skinny ass ever listened to me? §  
Sam's bitch-face gladdened Dean's heart. It was strange that even in the worst scenarios they managed to find a moment of comfort.

With a sigh, Dean turned his attention back to Castiel’s strange behaviour.  
"Okay! So, Cas wanted us to believe that Crowley pulled you out. Why?"

"I haven't told you everything yet, Dean," Sam interjected.  
Dean prepared himself for another punch to the gut.

"When Castiel was outside the Cage, I could see him talking with Michael. All I heard was the word "Purgatory" and then I found myself back on Earth lying naked in a field, just before Samuel found me."  
"Purgatory! What the fuck, Sam!"  
"You said it, bro!"

Dean's fertile mind went into overdrive trying to decipher the information Sam had just shared with him.  
"Sam, I know you don't remember much from the year you were soulless, but one night we went on a raid to Crowley's base, where he was holding all the alphas and other monsters we helped capture for him. Cas came with us, as did Meg. At a certain point, after Crowley vowed he couldn't get your soul out of Hell, Cas pulled out these old bones and burned them.  
I think he must have thought they were Crowley's because when the demon remained there smirking, Cas had the most surprised look on his face. Well surprised for Cas!" Dean amended, remembering the usually inexpressive face of the angel.

"Then Crowley said something about angels being stupid dicks and disappeared," he added.  
I didn't really think much of it at the time. I mean Cas does get things confused sometimes, and he was under a lot of pressure with the Civil War in Heaven thing, so I just chalked it down to another of his mix-ups."

 

Sam scrunched up his forehead trying to think back. His memories of being soulless were few and superficial. "Yeah, I seem to recall you were gonna be breakfast for two ghouls and I remember Meg and the hell-hound."

"That's another thing Sammy. I thought Angels could skin those pups alive, so why did Castiel not take care of it?  
You know the more I go over that night, the more I realise now that something was off. It's almost like it was all a set-up for us."

 

"Dean, I know you don't want to contemplate it, but everything points to Castiel and Crowley being partners in this," said Sam softly.  
"Maybe Crowley was supposed to fake his death by having Castiel burn some other person's bones but at the last-minute Crowley changed his mind and didn't collaborate."

"Yeah," answered Dean. "And me, and soulless you, didn't suspect anything was off, simply because I had complete faith in Cas."

"Okay, let's assume that Cas and Crowley are working together, and I'm still giving Cas the benefit of the doubt. Why would he do that? " Dean frowned, turning his body around in the seat to face his brother.  
"I mean I think we all know how making deals with demons has gone down!"

"Maybe Crowley promised to help him, or maybe find some Heavenly weapon. I don't know!" ventured Sam.

"Even so Sammy, I mean we're talking the King of Hell and the wannabe Boss of Heaven being allies here; not exactly something that crops up every day!"

"And we haven't even got to the personal stuff, yet," Dean's voice took on a razor edge. If there was one thing he hated, it was being betrayed by a friend.  
"I just don't understand that if it was Cas who pulled you out of Hell, why didn't he just say so? It would have been a miracle for you and for me, and we would've been grateful to him forever.  
Why let us think it was Crowley?"

"Unless," Sam interrupted with a broken voice. "There was something about pulling me out of Hell he didn't want us to know about; and that can only have to do with my soul."  
He turned his moist puppy eyes on his brother.

"I did some terrible things when I was soulless, but the worst of all were those I did to you. I stood by smiling as you were turned into a vampire. I will never be able to say how sorry I am for that, Dean, never! "

§ Come on, Sammy. Stop! It wasn't you. §  
Dean knew that calming Sam down was much more effective through their link, for the words were always accompanied by a rush of acceptance and love.  
§ It WAS me! it just wasn't all of me, I know that, but that doesn't take away from the fact it was my body doing those things. §

§ Sam, I'm your big brother. It's up to me to look out for you, something I haven't always done to the best of my ability, but you've always forgiven me anyway, haven't you? §  
§ You know I have Dean…but… §  
§ No buts, Sam. I've hurt you many times too, and I wasn't soulless or possessed by Lucifer as you were. So, let's just bury all that crap in the past where it belongs. Okay bro? §  
Sam nodded with a watery smile.

"Fine, now that we've had our chick-flick for the day, can we get back to Cas and the big question. Why didn't Cas pull out your soul along with the rest of you?"  
TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Sam waited for his brother to continue.

"Death told me before he went off to get your soul from the Cage that it was 'all about the souls'.  
At the time I didn't really think anything of it, I was too wired up about you getting your soul back and the whole freaky wall thing, but now, thinking back on it, I believe he was trying to warn me about something.  
When Death opened his bag and brought out your soul, Sam, it was beautiful. So dazzling, white and pure, like a ball of pulsing energy. After all that time in Hell, I was expecting,.…well, I don't know quite what I was expecting....., but your soul seemed completely untarnished by its time there."

Dean remembered the emotion he had felt at seeing the intimate essence of his little brother.

"A ball of energy?" Sam's voice rose in excitement.  
"Dean, could it be that the "energy" of souls acts like a generator of some kind. That maybe angels or other heavenly beings can draw on?"

With a worried frown, Dean considered Sam’s words. "You might be on to something, Sammy. Maybe Castiel didn't pull out your soul because he was keeping it in reserve for a reason. Is it possible he could use its energy to fire up his powers against Raphael?"  


At the very idea, Dean's voice grew so heavy with anger that it burst through their mind-link and almost flattened Sam against the car door. He held on to his head in agony.

"Dean, stop! Calm down! You're splitting my head in two!"  
Dean breathed in deeply, to try and bring his anger under control.  
"Sorry Sam, but if what we’ve just theorized about Cas is true, then nothing is going to keep me from splattering his sorry ass throughout the universe!"

The brothers sat in silence for a moment, the full impact of what they might have discovered leaving them shocked.

"Dean. We don't know much about souls and the amount of energy they hold, but it seems to me my soul on its own wouldn't be enough for the power Castiel might need to defeat Raphael and his host of angels. You remember I told you he was talking to Michael and I heard the word "Purgatory. What if it really exists?" Sam mused.

"Well, Heaven and Hell exist so I suppose there's no reason Purgatory can't be real. There's no lore about it, though, otherwise Bobby would’ve mentioned it," remarked Dean thoughtfully.

"Maybe all the knowledge and literature referring to it has been destroyed through the centuries. Could be it was placed out of bounds because it was dangerous, or for some other reason. What if the angels themselves don't even know where and if, it exists anymore?" Sam speculated.

"You know Sam. I think you could be on to something here!" Dean's voice was confident. "We'll turn around and head on back to Bobby's, and this time I'm even going to join you amongst his dusty old books on lore."

 

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," came a well-known voice, just before the brothers were plunged into darkness.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Dean's eyelashes fluttered open as his senses started to return.  
The bright light hitting his eyes made him nauseous and he quickly closed them, the glare leaving an angry image on the inside of his lids.  
He tred opening them again, and this time the brightness seemed a little bit more tolerable.

As he shakily looked around, familiar green walls came into focus. He’d been in this room before, a couple of years ago, before his little brother had taken a nose-dive into the Cage.  
This is where he’d killed the douche Zachariah. He’d often wondered about how it had happened. He’d been told only angels could kill other angels. Not that he was going to shed any tears over it.  
The feathery dick had deserved to die.

Of course, he knew that in the supernatural world, coming back from the dead was more than possible; he and Sam were living examples.

He pulled himself up onto his elbows and glanced around the room.  
No Sam!  
Dean's heart started to go into overdrive, fear for his brother causing it to beat with the violent rhythm of an orchestra of drums.

§ Sam, Sammy! §  
He searched for his brother through their link but there was no comforting reply to soothe his fears.

"Okay, Dean," he reasoned with himself. "You were out for the count, so maybe Sam is too and just hasn't woken yet."  
They had tried all sorts of things when they were first experimenting with their mind-link and they'd found that when one of the two was unconscious, the communication was still there but it was much weaker.

He knew because he'd been hurled against a tree by a nasty ghost and had come to his senses with Sam's anxious repetition of "Dean, Dean, are you okay? Can you hear me, bro?" reverberating dimly through the link.

He pulled himself to his feet, sliding his back up the wall for support, and tried to focus on what had happened. They’d been about to turn the Impala around and head back to Bobby's when he’d heard a voice, Castiel's voice, then darkness. And now he was here in the familiar Green Room.  
Alone!

Castiel had brought him here, without Sam. "Why would he do such a thing?" Dean asked himself. "Anyway, first things first. I have to find Sam."

§ Sam, Sam, answer me dude or when I find you I'll kick your ass! Sammy, Sam! §  
§ Dee…an. §

§ That's right, Sam. Come on. Wake up, man. Are you okay? Where the fuck are you? §

Dean drew a relieved hand down his face. His anxiety had gone down a notch now he knew his brother was alive.  
God, he was thankful for their link, otherwise he’d have been climbing the walls with worry.

§ Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just wobbly. Where am I? § Sam sent back.  
§ Dude, you tell me! All I know is that you're not with me! §

§ Just…just... give me a minute Dean. I feel as if I've been hit with a truck. §  
§ Nope! You were zapped by an angel §  
§ Cas. Yeah, now I remember. I heard his voice and then nada. §

§ Sam, do you remember Zachariah's Green Room? That's where I am. §  
§ Well, if an angel wanted to zap you somewhere, Dean, the Green Room would be a logical choice. Once you're in you don't get back out. No doors! §  
§ Thank you, Sammy Spock! Now it's your turn. Where the Hell are you? §

 

§ Hell might be the operative word, Dean. I think I'm in a Hell version of the Green Room. §  
§ What the crap is that supposed to mean? § Dean shot back.

§ Well for a start the walls are blood-red and the paintings are those of Hieronymus Bosch. You know the ones depicting the horrendous tortures of Hell. §  
§ Yeah, I know the ones you mean, College boy. Fine, now that we know where we are, I want to know WHY we are! §

Having ascertained that Sam wasn't in imminent danger, Dean's anxiety was being replaced by anger.  
He wanted to know why he'd been dragged here and why Sam had been separated from him and sent off to Hell's waiting room. He damn well wanted answers and Cas had better have some really good ones!

§ Sam. This might be the occasion to find out if anything supernatural can sense our link. I'm going to call for Cas. If he comes, see if you can listen in to our conversation through me. §  
§ Right, but if it is Cas behind our kidnapping, why would he do such a thing? §  
§ Well, Sammy, Let's try and find out. §

"Cas, get your ass down here pronto! I just want to talk, " Dean called. "I'll think about payback later for this little trick you've pulled on us."

§ Dean, try diplomacy! Keep your cool and don't throw any punches. You know you'll only break your hand! §  
§ Sammy! § Dean sent back with a mental smirk, § You know that I'm the coolest dude, not to say the most awesome, in the galaxy. §  
§ Right! Modest much! § his brother bitched back.

Turning around Dean almost bumped heads with Castiel. 

"What the fuck, Cas?" Dean growled. He wasn't in the mood for the social niceties.

Cas had been following some agenda of his own to win a war in Heaven, looking for heavenly weapons etc, and that was fine, but when he kidnapped, separated, and imprisoned the Winchesters, he’d crossed a line Dean wasn't prepared to ignore.

"I can explain, Dean. I just wanted to keep you safe," Castiel began.  
"Do go on. I'm all ears." Dean's voice was as icy as the gelid winds that swept the Antarctic wastelands.  
TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Hell’s Waiting Room.  
…………………………………  
Slowly Sam came to, his eyes adapting easily to the red-tinged, tenebrous light which filled his vision.  
Like a low buzz, he heard Dean's voice in his mind, anxiously calling him, but it took him a moment to get his bearings and focus. All he remembered was hearing Cas’ voice and then darkness.

"Fuck! Can we never catch a break?" he muttered to himself. Were he and Dean eternally condemned to be the focus of every supernatural fugly in existence? What happened to the saving people, hunting things, of bygone days?  
Everything had gotten so complicated.  
He knew if ever anything happened to Dean, he’d follow him instantly into death. Dying was no big. He’d been there, done that, both of them had.  
There had been hunters before them and there would be after. The fight against evil would continue with new players.

He was soon distracted from his melancholic thoughts by Dean's continual mind-pounding.  
§ I'm okay, Dean. A little wobbly but that's all. § 

After they’d assured each other they were fine, they brought one other up to date on where they found themselves, and on how to proceed.  
Dean finished up by saying that he was going to call Cas and hear what he had to say.

§ You listen in Sam. We'll see if Cas can detect our link. §  
§ Be careful, Dean. Remember Castiel just has to snap his fingers and you're mincemeat. §  
§ Cas won't hurt us Sam. §  
§ Right. That's why we're "here" and not still in the Impala! § was the caustic reply.

 

Castiel and Dean  
________________________________________  
Castiel came almost instantly at Dean's call.

"I can explain, Dean. I just wanted to keep you safe," he began.

"I get that me and Sam have been known to occasionally punch the living daylights out of each other, Cas, but I didn't think it was necessary to separate us to keep us safe." Dean's tone was ironic.

The angel observed him blankly." It was not to keep you safe from each other but from those who would do you harm."  
"And that would be?" inquired Dean coldly.  
"Raphael and his followers."

"Really?" Dean's disbelief was so thick it could’ve been cut with a knife.  
"Let me get this straight. You kidnapped me and my brother to keep us safe from Raphael, who by the way has never bothered his feathery ass about us since Sam got his soul back. And to protect us even better you separated Sam and me, because together we would have been less safe.  
You're seriously asking me to believe this crap, Cas?"

§ Dean, you realise he's lying through his teeth, right! § Sam's voice threaded through the link .  
§ Wow, Sammy! You think? §  
§ There's no need to be bitchy, Dean! §  
§ Don't worry Sam. I wouldn't dream of taking your title from you. §  
§ Jerk! §  
§ Dean, wait! He must've been listening in when we were talking about him and not Crowley, being the one who pulled me out of the Cage. About Purgatory too. §  
§ That makes sense, bro. Could be he heard something he didn't like, but that would mean he's been spying on us. §  
Sam's silence was more than eloquent.

Dean turned back to the task in hand, getting the truth from a painfully easy to bamboozle angel! Task which he had no doubt of completing successfully.

 

"Separating you would make it more difficult for Raphael to track you down. Even if he found one of you the other would be safe." Castiel was continuing on with his explanation, so he hadn't caught on to the mind-link, Dean mused, contented.  
§ Score one for Team Winchester, Sammy. §  
Sam's satisfaction and relief leaked through the link.

Dean gave his full attention to the angel once more.  
"Okay, Cas." Dean had decided to go for the diplomatic approach as suggested by his little brother. "You want to keep us safe, but for how long?"  
"Until I defeat Raphael"  
"So, how's that going?"

"Things are not going well. I...I.. need something that will turn the tide in my favour"  
"What about all those Heavenly weapons you've gathered?"  
"They are not enough to defeat Raphael’s army."

"What you need Cas is a super-nuke." Dean kept his voice purposely sympathetic. "A source of energy so powerful that it’ll destroy all your enemies. Something... like the energy that would come from millions of souls."  
"Yes, that is what I need..."  
Dean's triumphant smirk caused Cas to halt in mid-sentence, realizing what he’d just revealed.

Suddenly Dean was right up in his personal space, the angel's trench-coat fisted in his hand, his eyes examining at him as if he was a specimen in a laboratory.  
His voice had taken on its icy tone again.

"You know, Cas, if you want to lie convincingly, you're gonna have to practice a lot more. You didn't bring us here to protect us, but because Sam remembered it was you, and not Crowley who pulled him out of the Cage.  
Then you heard all the rest of our conversation by spying on us, keeping nice and quiet like a fly on the wall. I'm thinking you made a deal with Crowley to get your hands on an untapped number of extra souls for your little war in Heaven.  
I'm also thinking that if souls are so powerful, then I'm sure Crowley wanted in on the deal."

He looked Castiel in the eyes, assessing him. "Or... maybe it was Crowley who suggested it?"  
He gave the angel a last, long look, released him and backed off.

"Cas, Cas, Cas! Making deals with demons has never been a good idea! You're talking to an expert here."  
Castiel stood as if made of stone, his face a blank; denying nothing.

"It's becoming all so clear. Even Purgatory, " Dean continued.  
"The souls in Heaven are already divided between you and Raphael. Crowley's keeping his hands on his own souls in Hell, so that's why he was torturing alphas; to get the location of Purgatory.  
All those extra souls, if there are any in there, would come in very handy. They’d tip the scales in your favour and allow you to win the war. You didn't bring us here to protect us, Cas, but to keep us out of the way. Sam was starting to remember things and you were afraid we’d figure everything out.  
Sam says you were talking to Michael from outside the Cage. Were you asking him where the entrance to Purgatory was? Hmm! Maybe cooking up a little deal?  
Michael tells you where the entrance is, and in exchange you'll pull him out of the Cage when it's all over!  
Did he give you a hand getting Sammy's body out as a token of good will? How am I doing, Cas?" Dean smirked, turning to stare at him.

 

"You know nothing! The war in Heaven is far more important than you and your brother," Castiel answered almost passionately.  
"Crowley wanted me to kill you, but I said no. You and Sam will be our guests, you here, and Sam with Crowley, until I have conquered Heaven," was Castiel's brusque reply.  
Dean watched with cold indifference as the angel disappeared.

§ Sammy! You hear everything? §  
§ Yeah, Dean. I'm sorry, man. I wish it hadn't gone down like that. §  


Sam's wave of comfort for Dean's distress at his friend's betrayal poured through the link, soothing his big brother.


	8. Chapter 8

Their hopes of success lasted only the blink of an eye. It only took an additional second for them to understand what they'd hoped would happen, simply hadn't.  
The walls, red or green as they might be, were still standing, still keeping the brothers secure in their individual cells.

§ Sorry, Dean. I said it was a long-shot, but at least we tried. §  
§ It's no big, Sam, we'll just have to think up something else. I'm only pissed I had to cut my palm open again. These wounds are pretty annoying and take ages to heal. §  
§ Yeah § Sam concurred sympathetically. § Cuts on your palm really suck. §

The brothers slumped to the floor, falling into an unnatural silence, still disappointed by the failure of their attempt to escape and deflated after the high they'd been on during the execution of the rituals.  
:::::::::::::::::::::

When into the stillness of the green room came a sound so common-place, it took Dean a moment to understand what it was.  
The trill of his cell-phone broke the silence with its cheerful normality. Dean yanked it out from the right-hand pocket of his jeans, staring at the device with an expression of shock on his face.

He’d completely forgotten about it, his attention taken up by his concern for Sam and then by Castiel's ramblings and their attempted escape.

His heart jumped when he read the name of the caller.  
"Bobby, is that you?"

"Yeah, Idjit, who’d you think it was? The Queen of England! Sam said he’d call back after Visyak's seminar and bring me up to date. Your brother's pretty precise about stuff like that. When he didn't, I tried to contact him but his phone's dead.  
So, you boys okay? "

"No...! I mean, Yeah! We're all in one piece but we've been hijacked by Cas and I'm in the Green room while Sam's in Hell's antechamber." The words tumbled out so uncharacteristically fast that they were nearly unintelligible.

Bobby must have been struck speechless for a moment because there was no answer forthcoming, but the older hunter soon found his voice.

"What sort of trouble have you dumbasses got yourselves into now? I swear you two are gonna be the death of me.  
A couple of days on your own and you're up to your necks in crap again."

Dean moved the phone a little further away from his ear as Bobby's yelling threatened to deafen him.  
He waited until Bobby had vented his worry, recognising his yelling for what it was.

"You finished now, Man? You can kick our asses later but now we need your help to get out of here, wherever "here" is."

"Right," was the resigned reply. "Bring me up to date on everything, but slowly this time."  
Dean took his time and explained their situation to their surrogate father, thanking the fates that his battery was fully charged.

"So, let me get this straight. Castiel and Crowley are working together to get their hands on a bundle of energy-giving souls from Purgatory, but they don't know where the entrance is yet, and they hijacked and separated you two to keep your asses out of the way in case you found out and put a spoke in their wheel. That right?"  
"That just about sums it up Bobby," answered Dean tiredly.

"Well son, last time you told me the Angel room was in Van Nuys, so it's probably still on Earth somewhere, maybe even in the same Van Nuys warehouse for all we know. Angels aren't really great on taking the initiative.  
Sometimes things are simpler than we reckon.  
Let me make a call to a hunter friend of mine down there in California, and I'll get back to you."

"Bobby...! "  
The older hunter caught the undercurrent of preoccupation in Dean's voice.

"Don't worry, boy, even if something should stop us talking on the phone again, now that I know what's about, I'll manage to track you idjits down just the same."  
"Thanks, Bobby. Be careful. I don't know what Sam and I would do if anything ever happened to you."

"Are you growing lady parts, Dean? We gotta get you out of there before irreparable damage is done to your psyche, boy," were Bobby's gruff parting words.  
Dean closed the communication feeling uncharacteristically abandoned.

He felt Sam's enquiring tendrils rippling through his mind and he turned his attention to his little brother who'd been patiently waiting for Dean to finish.  
Sam had heard Dean's side of the conversation but could only guess at Bobby's replies.  
He quickly brought Sam up to date on everything that had been discussed.

 

§ It's strange your phone works and mine's dead, § mused Sam.  
§ Not so strange, Sammy. Crowley's a lot shrewder than Cas, so he probably killed your cell dead when he brought you there. Angels are so self-righteous about what they do, that they sometimes overlook the piddling details. §

§ So, § Sam continued § let's hope Bobby comes through. §  
§ He will, Sam, he will, otherwise we're truly fried. Talking of fries, how long has it been since we've eaten! Maybe they're gonna starve us to death! §

§ Dean! I can't believe you can even think of eating! §  
§ Any time’s a good time for a burger, Sammy. You should know that by now. §

Although their bickering was light-hearted, Sam sensed his brother was worried and although he hadn't quizzed him about what Crowley had said to him earlier, he knew Dean was terrified of the demon losing his calm and ripping his little brother to shreds.

The phone trilled again.

"Bobby?"

I got in touch with my contact in LA and he tells me there's been a lot of demon omens and activity right smack around the Van Nuys area... Now, you're gonna have to give me more detailed directions to the warehouse the original Green room was in. The area is full of industrial buildings!"

Dean cast his mind back to the day he’d almost said yes to Michael and tried to remember the exact location.

"When we came out I think we stumbled on to a Valerio Street, and it was an abandoned muffler factory."  
Huh, pretty good description!" was Bobby's impressed reply.

"Yeah, I looked up info on the area after we got out. I was just curious, I guess."  
"Well, let's hope we get lucky here, Dean, otherwise I'm afraid it's going to take a while longer to get you out of wherever you are. I'm not even gonna think about where Sam might be. I'll keep that one for later!" Bobby's voice was apprehensive.

"I'm gotta hang up now boy. Try and keep Sam from fretting too much."

"You got it, Bobby."

§ Hey, Sasquatch, Bobby's worrying about you brooding. You're not, are you? §  
§ Why on earth would you think that, Dean? Sitting in Hell's waiting room is a friggin' walk in the park, §

§ Sorry, Dude, just trying to lighten the atmosphere. §  
§ Yeah, well, remind me never to go to an exhibition of Bosch's paintings. The way Crowley's got them hanging all around this room really creeps me out. § was Sam's crestfallen reply.

§ Hang in there, Sammy; Bobby'll get us out of this mess. § Dean tried to infuse as much optimism as he could into his mind-voice and he accompanied it with a wave of comforting assurance.  
The brothers settled down to wait, soothed by their link.

::::::::::::::::

Dean consulted his watch. According to it, they’d been here for twenty-three hours, although he knew time was a variable when dealing with angels and demons.  
He jumped to attention on hearing faint noises coming from beyond the confines of the room, and quickly pressed his ear to the wall, hoping to interpret what was going on.

§ Sammy, § he reached out to his brother. § Something seems to be happening outside. §

§ Be careful, Dean, § was Sam's concerned reply.

§ Don't worry, Mom! §

§ Jerk! §

Dean pushed even closer to the wall….... and found himself sprawled ungainly on the floor of the same dirty warehouse he’d been in before, with the smiling face of Bobby's hunter friend staring down at him.  
"Winchester, I presume!"  
tbc


	9. Chapter 9

§ Dean, what's happening? Are you okay? § Sam's worried voice reverberated anxiously in his mind.  
§ I'm fine, Sam. The only thing that's bruised is my dignity. §

He squinted up at the bearded hunter standing over him.  
"Thanks, man. I owe you one."

"Nah, Winchester. It's me who owes Bobby a list of favours as long as my arm. Just glad I could help out."  
Dean took the hand the guy proffered and pulled himself up.

"You got a name or what?" Dean asked, dusting himself down.  
"Matt Valerio."  
"Valerio, as in the name of the street?"

"Yeah, great-great granddad back in the day. Right, now that we're done with the social graces, I'd say it was time to hightail it out of here," his rescuer said. “Wouldn’t want any unexpected visitors turning up.”

"Just a second...! Did you just walk in here? No guards, nothing?" asked Dean.  
"Two demons at the entrance and two inside," was the laconic reply."

"And…you, what? Just waltzed right by?"

"You better believe it!" Valerio grinned.  
"I might if you explain it to me," was Dean's unconvinced reply.

"Fuck, Winchester, I've only just met you and you're already wearing' me out. I hate to think of the state Bobby must be in, having to deal with you all the time."

Dean's eye-roll was in the running to take over the championship from his brother as he traipsed along behind the hunter towards the exit.

§ Sammy, don't worry. I'm gonna get you out from wherever you are. Just hang in their bro. §  
§ I'm not going anywhere, Dean. § was the disheartened reply.

:::::::::  
To this day, Dean isn't sure what made him turn around and go back towards the grey cabin he’d been imprisoned in, but a gut feeling told him that walking out of the warehouse was the wrong thing to do.

The soles of his worn-down boots left a trail on the dusty warehouse floor as he doubled back towards the Green room, his instinct leading him.

"Hey, Winchester. Where are you going? We’ve got to get out of here while we still can," Valerio spluttered in alarm.  
Ignoring him, Dean disappeared around the corner of the cabin which had been his prison until a few minutes earlier. There, in all its glory, was an exact copy.

He took up position in front of the door, unsure of what he would find on the other side. Pulling it open, he found himself almost doubled in two by a powerful punch to the gut.

§ Sam, it's me, dumbass! §  
§ Dean! What the hell! Why didn't you warn me? Telepathy, remember! §  
§ I didn't want to get your hopes up if it didn't play out," answered Dean, reeling unsteadily from his brother's punch.

Sam grabbed his wheezy brother, holding onto him, exiting the red-tinged room at his back with heartfelt relief.

§ Sammy, glad to see you, dude…… §  
§ Same here, man… § Their link emphasised their relief and solace in being safely together again.

§So, we were imprisoned next to each other. Smart idea on their part.§ Sam sent through the link.  
§Not so smart, seeing we’re both free. § Dean amended.

Lifting his eyes from his brother, Sam met the gaze of the unknown man who was studying them attentively.

"Uh, Sam. This Matt Valerio, a hunter friend of Bobby's. He's the one that pulled my ass out of Castiel's waiting room."  
"Hey, thanks, man," Sam said, empathy and gratitude filling his expressive eyes.

Valerio exhibited an eye-roll that was up there with the best of them. “Can we get out of here before I drown in girlie sentimentality!"

§ Where did you pick him up, Dean? § was Sam's amused question. § Has he been taking lessons in snark from Bobby? §  
§ He can snark all he wants, Sammy. I'd even let him drive the Impala, well, theoretically, anyway. §  
§ Wow, I can't believe you just said that, Dean... You bitch if I even breathe on her. §  
§ Shut up, Sammy! § Dean's relief in having found his brother was making him light-headed.

 

If Matt Valerio was intrigued by the silence of the two men following him, he never made mention of it. He merely hastened their steps past the lifeless meat-suits of the demons who’d been on guard duty  
Outside, he led them to a swanky Mercedes parked a few blocks from the warehouse.

Sam and Dean exchanged a mental § Huh! § Not the type of car hunters usually drove!  
"Mount up, boys. We've dawdled around here too long as it is."

They threw themselves onto the luxurious leather seats as Matt took off at breakneck speed towards the northern boundaries of the city, finally drawing up behind a nondescript family car parked in a quiet side-street.

"There's your ride guys. It should get you wherever you need to go. Just leave it with Bobby when you're finished. He probably needs a new set of wheels anyway."  
He dropped a key into Dean's hand.

"Really, man, this is too much. We can't take your car. You've already saved our asses,“ Dean said, fingering the unfamiliar keys.  
" Yeah,” Sam chirped in. “We can take a train or something." Or hotwire a car, he thought to himself.

"I don't need the car and you do. End of story,” Matt grunted. "Now, you two getting out or not? I got better things to do than babysit a couple of hunters."

"Thanks, Matt. We're in your debt. If you ever need our help, Bobby'll know where to find us." was Sam's parting reply.

"By the way just how did you take out those demons on your own? " Dean asked, genuinely curious.

"Maybe one day, Winchester, maybe one day!" Matt smirked, and with that he took off with a roar of the powerful engine, leaving the brothers wondering what kind of hunter they’d just run into.

Crowley's Hell Office.  
:::::::::::::::::::::::  
"My Lord," the lower-level demon stuttered, knowing the news he was bringing could sign his death warrant. " The Winchesters have escaped."  
The demon was even more terrified as Crowley took the news with unsettling calm.

"I told that idiot angel the Winchesters had to be put down like the dogs they are, but no!” ‘We can't kill Dean and Sam. They're my friends.’ Crowley parodied, mocking Castiel's words.  
"He wouldn't listen when I warned him and now those two are on the loose again. If they weren't sure of what we were planning before, I’m guessing they do now. I should’ve known better than to trust one of those imbecilic self-righteous angels."

The demon howled in agony as Crowley disintegrated him slowly into dust with a twist of his fingers.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 

The car sped through the night, its wheels eating up the miles.  
Inside, the younger of the car's occupants was curled up in the passenger seat, his head pressed against the window, his legs akimbo, one long limb ending up practically on the gas pedal his brother was pressing to the floor in an attempt to make the vehicle fly even faster.

Dean enjoyed driving through the night. There was zero traffic, especially on these roads, and it gave him time to get his thoughts in order and well... brood.  
Although brooding was his brother's prerogative and Dean was the one targeted as the "action man" of the two, he was as good at brooding as Sam was. He was just more expert at pushing it all down and hiding it.

He was too scarred by the life he’d led to be optimistic any more. He and Sam had been witness to, and survived, the most incredible things. Dean had been turned into an old-age pensioner, bitten by a vampire, still a sore topic with Sam, who’d turn the puppy eyes of doom on him and profuse his umpteenth apology with a litany of "Sorry Dean.”  
The list was endless.

"Enough!" he chided himself mentally, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to check on his brother. 

Sam stirred, long limbs twitching, immersed in dreams or more likely nightmares.  
Dean resisted the ingrained "big brother protects Sammy" temptation to enter his brother's mind and stand with him there, fight off all his sibling’s fears, but they had an unspoken pact not to invade one another's thoughts without consent, unless they were in danger and, well… Sam was safely asleep at his side!

He brought his mind back to yesterday and went over what had occurred.  
Castiel had been eavesdropping on them, had heard Sam putting things together, remembering little details such as it being the angel who had pulled him out of Hell and not Crowley. Castiel had been afraid the Winchesters would come to the correct conclusion, that Cas was in cahoots with Crowley in an effort to get purgatory souls to boost his power

 

If Dean studied the situation in a detached manner however, he could understand Castiel's tactic.  
On his own the angel was too weak to take on Raphael and so he allied himself with the King of Hell. But Crowley was a demon and demons never did anything out of the goodness of their heart.

As Cas’ friend however, Dean couldn't understand why the angel had acted as he had towards him.  
Why hadn't he come to him for help? Why hadn't Cas told him about Sam? They could have gotten his soul out sooner and there would have been no need for a wall.

Dean knew he was a good military tactician. He could and would've helped Castiel if he'd only asked.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 

His musings were interrupted by the signpost of "Welcome to Bushville." He hoped his Baby was still where she'd been parked in the lot outside the University.

He stopped just inside the City Limits and nudged his brother. "Rise and shine, Cinderella. You've arrived at the ball."  
Sam blinked, always needing a few seconds to adjust to reality.

"Dean! Where are we?"  
"Bushville. I thought we'd pick up the Impala instead of going straight to Sioux Falls."

Sam regarded him reproachfully. "Dude, we discussed this and I said it would better to go directly to Bobby's. Crowley and Cas will have have discovered we've escaped by now and be keeping an eye on the Impala in case we show up there. We've to get to Sioux Falls and regroup. Bobby has intensified his anti-angel sigils and wards. We'll be safe there."

"But Sam…!"

"We can't risk it Dean! Even Valerio told us to drive directly to Bobby's."  
"I know, Sam but maybe..."

"No Dean! We were lucky this time but if we fall into Crowley's clutches again, he won't be so understanding, and I can tell you all that bonhomie he exhibits when he shows up is crap.  
If he wanted, he could’ve ripped me to shreds in that room of his and taken great pleasure in it. I'm sure having both of us in his hands would double the enjoyment.!"

Dean felt his hackles rise at the thought of his little brother at the mercy of Crowley; hadn't the kid suffered enough in the Cage for a hundred and eighty years?  
Dean had been privy to the horrors of Hell and knew he’d never allow Sam to suffer through that again.  
Somewhere dark and deep inside him, he was aware he’d drive them both off a cliff first.

He’d wanted to ignore Sam's warning and recuperate the Impala, but much as he loved his Baby and ached to have her wheels under his ass, she just couldn't vie with his brother's well-being.  
Heavy-hearted, he turned the car around and set out for North Dakota.

Sam sent out a wave of understanding and sympathy through their link and Dean took comfort from his brother's love.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
A few hours later they pulled up into Bobby's yard.  
Sam had stayed awake, alternating between keeping up a light–hearted bickering with his sibling and comforting him mentally for the temporary loss of his Baby.

Bobby was in the doorway, waiting to greet them as he always did when he heard the roar of the Impala. This time there was no Impala but the grizzled hunter was still at the door.  
Maybe he wasn't just attuned to the arrival of the Impala, but also to his boys!  
TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Bobby eyed the unfamiliar car as it came to a stop outside his front door. Maybe it wasn't the Impala, but that sure was his boys getting out of it.

While he felt affection for the classic car, he’d never put its well-being before that of Sam or Dean, so he didn't suffer any of Dean's heartbreak at having to use another vehicle to transport himself and his sibling home.

Instead Bobby sent off a mental thank you to his hunting colleague Matt Valerio for getting his boys out safe and sound.  
All debts had been paid now, though he knew the California hunter would never deny his help if Bobby ever had need of it.

 

"Hey Bobby," the brothers said in unison, as first one then the other pulled him into a hug.  
They were all turning into ladies in their old age, Bobby reckoned. Sam had always been the touchy-feely one, but now even the' no-chick-flick' Dean, and Bobby himself were no longer averse to a good manly embrace.

"Get your asses inside, you idjits. The yard isn't as protected as the house. Nothing supernatural should be able to get in. If anyone wants to take us out, they’ll have to drop a bomb on the place!"

"Shut up, Bobby, some of those fuglies might take you up on that. Seems there's been a lot of eavesdropping going on lately. We’ll go clean up then tell you all about it.”  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A while later, Bobby lifted his cap, scratched his head and replaced the worn headgear as he assimilated what he’d just been told.

"Well, now that's some weird crap you've been telling me, boys. I'm gonna have to look out the lore. I seem to have missed any references to 'Purgatory'.  
As for Castiel and Crowley being in cahoots, it's not that hard to believe. So you're telling me If the angel manages to get his hands on these…… Purgatory souls, he'll accumulate enough power to defeat Raphael and take over Heaven?" But what's Sam got to do with anything? What would Castiel want from him?

"I don't know Bobby," Dean answered, as he looked over affectionately at his sibling. "Why would Cas have it in for you Sammy? Is there something you haven't been telling me, dude?" he scolded fondly.

"What... no, Dean! Nothing I can remember anyway…." Then he stopped, realising that Dean was teasing him.

§ Jerk! §  
§ Bitch §

Sam's telepathic bitch-face rolled over into Dean’s mind and made him grin all the more, while Bobby's amused eyes watched their silent pantomime.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Bobby, I meant to ask you about the hunter who got us out of the warehouse. Seems he had no problem taking down the demon guards, though he wouldn't tell us how he did it. Seems a nice guy too," Sam said.

"Yeah," Dean butted in. "He had a real snazzy set of wheels, not half as pretty as my Baby but certainly not bad for a hunter!"

"Well, he's not your usual run of the mill hunter," Bobby explained." In fact, he's one of a kind. He tell you his name?"

"Yeah, Matt Valerio," Sam replied.

"Ring any bells, dumb-dumbs?”

The brothers shrugged their shoulders and exchanged bemused glances.  
"That just shows you how observant you two "experienced " hunters are. You've seen his name dozens of times," Bobby chided as he walked over to the DVD player and picked up a film.

"Catch!"

"Is he an actor?" Dean asked as he caught the DVD.

"Nope! Guess again!"

Dean ran his eyes down the cover of the DVD, but Sam beat him to it. "Matthew Valerio, the famous film producer!"

"An extra cookie for Sam," Bobby quipped

"What the Hell, Bobby? Hunters keep out of the headlines and this guy does everything he can to be in them. You can't be serious," Dean said.

"Well, nobody knows he's a hunter, Dean. I suppose you could say it's like a secret identity."

A look of sheer admiration came over Dean's face at Bobby’s words and Sam could feel his brother's hero-worship vibes flooding his mind.

"Dude! He's the Batman of the hunting world, just like Bruce Wayne," was Dean's awed comment.

"Well I suppose you could put it like that," Bobby acknowledged, a grin spreading over his face at Dean's admired expression.

"Awesome, tell me more!"

"All I know is that his ancestor was one of the first to set foot in the newly discovered Americas, a bit like your own forefathers, the Campbells.  
He was on the run from the Papal State and tried to get as far away as possible. Seems the family was in the hunting business even then and it was probably a lot more dangerous than now, what with the witch-burning and all.  
Anyways, the family accumulated riches through the generations and they kept the hunting in the background, coming out anonymously when something evil was on the loose."

Sam rolled his eyes as Dean sat entranced by Bobby's words.

§ Don't tell me you've knocked Dr Sexy down to second place in your top ten, Dean and put Matt at number one. §

§ Sam! A real live hunter-Batman! How can you sit there unimpressed! §

§ I'm soooooo unimpressed Dean, that I'm going off to bed. And please keep your fanboy fawning to yourself. I do NOT want to have Valerio's face in my mind all night long, even though I can't thank him enough for having saved our bacon. §

Sam made his good-nights to Bobby and went off the room he shared with his sibling, shaking his head in amusement.

Sometimes his badass hunter of a brother reverted back to a five-year-old; but in his heart he was happy that Matt's life story had put a smile on Dean's face and taken his mind off this muddled-up situation with Castiel, Crowley and the souls.

For tonight however, Sam only wanted to put his head down on a pillow and fall into a dreamless sleep.  
§ Sweet dreams, Sasquatch. §

§ Dude, get out of my head. I don't want to hear another word about Matt for at least ten hours. D' you think you can manage that? §

§You know how I love teasing you, bitch! You rise so easily to the bait! I promise, no Matt for ten hours but after I can't guarantee you anything. §

§ Jerk! §  
§ Good night, Sammy! §


	11. Chapter 11

Sometime later Dean said his own good-nights to Bobby and joined his brother in their shared room.

Sam was sleeping like a baby, his long limbs scattered about the bed, sign his rest was peaceful, for when he was hurt or miserable he curled his ginormous frame into the littlest of balls.  
His hair was no longer sitting primly in the style he’d taken to wearing lately but all mussed up by sleep, bringing back fond memories of how it used to be when Sam was younger, before the tragic escalation of the demon blood affair, when things if not easier, were at least simpler, not yet complicated by the appearance of Castiel and the Heavenly Hordes.

Since his mother died, Dean had never possessed many certainties in his life.  
He could count them on one hand, his father, the Impala, the family business, shabby motel rooms and Sam. He’d put his brother's name last on his little list but not because he was the least important. No, Sam had been, was and always would be the one true reality in his sorry existence and he’d defend him with his life, heart, mind and body.

He sent out a soothing wave of affection to his brother's sleeping mind. Sam nestled more comfortably into his covers at the instinctive, unconscious recognition of it, then Dean himself fell into the same dreamless sleep as his brother.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 

Next morning Sam strolled into the untidy kitchen, the aroma of Bobby's freshly brewed coffee titillating his olfactory senses.

"Have your telepathic powers awoken too, Bobby," he joked as the older man instantly spooned a steaming breakfast on to a plate and set it down on the table.

"Don't need to be a mind reader to know what time you usually get your butt down here, Sam and I'll give Dean another five minutes before his ass joins yours. Want to take a little wager?  
But no cheating now! Don't you go warning him through that link of yours," Bobby admonished.

Sam gave him a dimpled smile and sat down. "Cross my heart and hope to die!" was his childish rejoinder.

Like well-oiled clockwork, four minutes and forty-eight seconds later Dean sauntered in through the kitchen door, his face still woozy from sleep.

"Mm, that smells good, Bobby," were his first words, and he couldn't understand why both Sam and Bobby broke into guffaws at his appearance.  
"Whaa..! Did I say something funny?”Dean stood there scratching his head at the inexplicable hilarity of the other two occupants of the kitchen.

Sam felt his brother's question probe his mind but he affectionately shut him out, wanting to keep the details for further use as a baiting moment and Dean retreated good-naturedly at his brother's unwillingness to share the joke.

"What the fuck," Dean muttered to himself, "If they're both laughing it can't be anything bad. Let them keep their little secret!" 

With a baleful look at Bobby and Sam, he sat down and polished off all that was on offer on Bobby's table.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
That Crowley wasn’t in the best of moods was an understatement.  
He’d gone along with Castiel’s plan regarding the Winchesters just to keep him happy, for he still needed the angel's help to get his hands on all those inviting souls in Purgatory. Along with harvesting the souls Crowley had every intention of defeating whoever was in charge of the monsters and conquering the throne of Purgatory too.

An enticing enough reason for him to keep in with Castiel, for the time being anyway, but all this fawning over the Winchesters was getting on his nerves.  
They were only a couple of weak humans, if not quite your normal run of the mill variety.

Even if they seemed to bounce back from death every second day, it didn't mean they were immune to it.  
There was no reason to think that if they died this time they’d come back.

However, Crowley had a gut feeling that there was something Castiel wasn't telling him, something to do with those pretty-boy pin-ups!  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 

Castiel wasn't any happier than Crowley about the Winchesters' escape. He’d thought his idea was perfect.  
The two brothers were at their weakest when separated and in that way, Dean could have been kept ignorant of Sam's part in the angel’s plan.

He knew Dean would never agree to what he had in mind for his brother but by the time the hunter found out, it would be too late for him to change anything. Castiel would become so powerful as to be paralleled to God.

He couldn’t fathom how Dean and Sam had escaped from their prisons, especially when Crowley had set an excessive amount of demons to guard the two rooms.  
It would’ve taken power to kill all those guards and free Dean, and even then, how had Dean understood Sam was in the same warehouse?  
Castiel had considered that to be an ingenious little detail to his plan, for even if one managed to escape, they’d never guess the other to be imprisoned right next to them.

He sighed. As usual, he continued to underestimate the brothers. He wondered if Crowley wasn't right this time; maybe it would've been better to kill the Winchesters and get it over with, but he knew that killing Dean would be very upsetting for him.

Castiel had helped pull him out of Hell and felt an instinctive affinity with the older hunter.

As for Sam, Castiel was glad no such bond existed between them, and never could, for though he'd averted the Apocalypse by sacrificing himself, the younger Winchester still carried the original sin of being tainted with demon blood and chosen as the heir to Hell; a corruption Castiel found difficult to overlook.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

While Castiel vied his options, the big, bad, tainted, ex-heir to Hell was sitting placidly at his brother’s side watching one of Valerio's films on TV, waiting for Bobby to finish up with a customer in the yard.  
Strange as it seemed, the old hunter did run a legit scrap business along with his hunting.

"Hmm," Dean said. "I never thought of it that way, but Bobby's a kind of Batman too, only without the Wayne or Valerio riches."

§ When are you going to stop all this Batman stuff? §  
§ Hey, you don't have to listen in if you don't like it, Sam! You weren't too disturbed about shutting me out this morning, when you and Bobby were sharing a joke at my expense. §  
§ Don't tell me you were offended, Dean! It was just a harmless piece of fun. §  
§ Yeah, Well, it's not funny when you get laughed at without knowing why. §

Sam's huffed sigh came through the link.  
§ Bobby made a wager that you’d appear in the kitchen five minutes after I did and he was only out by two seconds, soo…, it was funny! That's all! §

Dean snorted.  
§ What's funny about that Sam? I always wake up right after you and come straight down to the kitchen. Been doing it since you were a kid. Nothing to laugh at there. §  
§ I know, Dean. It wasn't funny until Bobby pointed it out and took a bet on it, then it was hilarious. §  
§ And you've got the balls to lecture me about Batman! § 

With a growl, Bobby strolled into the room, his voice drowning out the background noise of the TV.

"I swear it's harder to close a sale with some of these guys than it is to interrogate a demon," he bitched. "You boys come up with any ideas while I've been gone?"

The brothers exchanged a guilty glance.  
"Uh, Bobby, we wanted to wait for you before …"

"Idjits! You two are as easy to read as a book. You haven't been giving a whit of your attention to this, have you? Never mind! Get your butts over here and let's go over it all again!"  
::::::::::::::::

 

A short time later all semblance of fun was gone from the three as they sat discussing the situation. They found themselves going around and around in circles until Sam's laptop pinged the arrival of an email.

It was from Dr, Visyak, sending him the info he’d asked for about her lecture on strange monsters.

Sam skimmed enthusiastically through the contents, impressed by the amount of new information he was receiving. He turned the lap-top towards Bobby.  
"Ever hear of any of these supernatural creatures, Bobby?" he asked.

Bobby's face never changed expression as it studied the screen but when he lifted his head he simply declared, "I think that a little visit to my old friend Eleanor might be in order."  
TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Bobby had kept them up all the night searching through his most ancient tomes, trying to get any kind of info on the series of creatures Visyak had detailed in her e-mails to Sam, but try as they might, nothing but the most obscure references to any of the aforesaid creatures could be found in Bobby's library.

 

"That does it! There's definitely something going on here. How can Eleanor have such detailed synopses on these creatures if my lore books don't give 'em more than a trace mention?  
Where did she get this information from? I'd say a little visit to the lady is definitely in order," was Bobby's final conclusion.

 

§ Hey, Sammy. Maybe you'll get to try out that individual tuition she was offering you after all. §  
§ Shut up. Dean! §  
§ I didn't even open my mouth, Sasquatch. §  
§ Very funny, Dude! Ha! Ha! §

 

Dean's face gave nothing away, as outwardly he seemed completely concentrated on Bobby's words but the turn of Sam's head as he physically delivered a bitch-face to his sibling was not lost on the older man, who shook his head in exasperation.  
Wasn't it enough that these two had lived in each other's pockets since they were kids? Now they were living in each other's minds too!

 

"Are you idjits listening to a word I'm saying or are your wits occupied elsewhere?"  
Sam guiltily turned his gaze back to the older man. "Sorry, Bobby, it's just than Dean thinks he's so funny when he butts in with his stupid remarks."

 

"Right." Bobby glanced over at Dean who looked the picture of innocence.  
"We'll leave day after tomorrow at first light if that's okay with you boys. No harm in stocking up on some anti-angel and demon wards to take with us in the hope we manage to reach California without getting waylaid on the journey."

 

"That's fine for me Bobby, I could do with another night's rest anyway," Dean replied tiredly as he walked out into the yard, desperate for a breath of fresh air after all the research in Bobby's dusty library.

Sam pottered about with his computer for a few minutes, then followed his brother outside where he found Dean pacing up and down in the long avenues between the rows of old cars.

Ribbons of pink stained the night sky as the sun began its rise into a new day.

Sam matched his stride to his brother's, both comfortable in the silence of the early morning, both wondering what tomorrow would bring.  
They perched themselves on the hood of one of the old rusty vehicles which filled the yard and watched as the sun came into its fullness, neither moving an inch until the aroma of breakfast and Bobby's voice, called them back into the house.

 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

San Francisco, California, Dr Visyak's Home.  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
The three men decided it was wiser to journey in two separate vehicles as Castiel and Crowley were probably still looking for them. There was no point it putting all the "eggs" in one basket as it were.  
Sam had offered to drive alone, his link with Dean keeping them constantly in touch, so leaving his sibling to keep Bobby company in the other car, but Dean would have none of it. If anything was going to snatch Sam, he wanted to be right next to him.

The two nondescript cars drew up outside the lovely home of Eleanor Visyak. Bobby had phoned ahead announcing their arrival and she had agreed to see them.

 

Dr Visyak invited them in rather begrudgingly, Dean thought. It was always better to get a person's collaboration rather than have to break into their home and go through their things, though it wasn't as if they hadn't done it dozens of times before!

 

"Bobby," she said with a curt nod, "It’s not that I'm unhappy to see you but I'm going through a really busy spell at the moment between my series of lectures and my university obligations.  
What's so important that you have to speak to me right now?"

"I'm sorry if it's a bad time, Eleanor but there are few things I'd like to ask about the lore you sent out to Sam the other day…" he indicated the younger Winchester with his head, causing Visyak's appreciative glance to fall on him.  
She turned her attention back to Bobby and waited patiently for him to go on.  
"…and well, it's very unique information, in fact it's so unique that I can't find hide nor hair of it in any of my own books."

"So?" she commented casually. "It simply means my fonts are more exhaustive than yours. You're not going to tell me you came all the way here just for that?"

"Care to share your fonts with me, then, Eleanor? It would mean a lot to us."

"Look, Bobby, I would if I could but it's just not possible. So, if that's everything.....? I'm going to be late for the university."  
She turned away as if to accompany them to the door but found the way blocked by the two Winchesters.

"Dr. Visyak, " began Sam purposefully. "It's very important for us to know the provenance of those creatures you described, because they don't seem to exist in the lore for Heaven or Hell.  
They may be native to Purgatory and we're trying to find out as much as we can. Lives may be danger but we need more information."

A look of cautious surprise came over her face.  
"What has Purgatory got to do with you, or with any of this? No-one even knows if it really exists," she parried.

Sam decided to come right to the point otherwise this whole conversation could turn into one big stalemate.  
"There may be entities who are trying to open the door to Purgatory for their own purposes and if there are any new facts you can give us, it might help avoid a catastrophic situation," he elaborated earnestly.

Eleanor seemed to be shaken by Sam's revelation and she flopped boneless down onto the nearby sofa.

"Open Purgatory? What are you blabbing about? That would be disastrous!"

"Why?" Dean demanded impatiently, having instinctively grasped that the lady knew much more than she was letting on.

"Come on Eleanor," Bobby broke in. "If you know anything, share it with us. You ought to know me well enough by now to realise I can keep a secret."

 

Eleanor stood and walked slowly towards the window, her back to her guests.  
"Purgatory," she began," is where the souls of monsters go when they die and it's filled with the most frightening and unimaginable mix of beings, creatures of your wildest nightmares and if there's anyone stupid enough to let them out, they’ll reduce the Earth and all its inhabitants at best to slaves, at worst to food.  
The most dangerous of all are the Leviathans, the most ancient and powerful monsters to inhabit Purgatory. 

§ Dean, this can't be true, for how could Cas even consider opening Purgatory if he knows half of what we've just been told? §  
Sam's mind voice flowed agitatedly through Dean.

§ Maybe he doesn't, Sam. Or maybe he's just so desperate to conquer Heaven that he doesn't care if the Earth goes up in smoke.  
Remember that for a while back there he was on the Apocalypse band-wagon too. §

§ That's illogical, Dean! Cas said that he wanted to defeat Raphael to keep him from doing that very thing; restarting the Apocalypse, I mean. §  
Dean's mental shrug reverberated in Sam's mind.

§ Cas kidnapped us both, isolated us in separate cells and left you at the mercy of Crowley. Why do that in the first place?  
He could just have kept quiet and we’d never have had anything except your fleeting memory of him having pulled you out of the Cage, something I'm sure he could’ve explained away as you having had a weird dream or a hallucination or whatever.  
No Sam! He kidnapped and separated us for a precise reason and I'm ever more convinced it has to do with opening Purgatory. §

‘And with you, Sammy.’ But he kept those four words to himself, for if Castiel or Crowley laid a finger on his brother, there would be Hell to pay!

 

He turned his attention away from his sibling just in time to hear Bobby ask Eleanor if she had any idea what would be needed to open a hypothetical doorway to Purgatory, and to feel his blood turn to ice when she produced an answer to the question.

"It’s said there’s a spell, and that the most important ingredient necessary is a unique soul; one which has suffered the tortures of Hell without becoming a demon, but yet possesses at its core the stench of demon blood.  
A soul with a mix of the sacred and profane if you like, but as no such soul exists, there is no danger of Purgatory ever being opened."

Bobby grunted out the one word "Balls," and simultaneously Dean's horrified gaze turned to his little brother whose soul fitted the description down to a tee; a little brother whose face had paled to the colour of driven snow.

§ Dean. § was Sam's ever so vulnerable cry through their link.  
§ Son of a Bitch, Sam! Cas and Crowley are after your soul to open the gates to Purgatory. §


	13. Chapter 13

Dean couldn't believe the sheer callousness of what he was hearing, his brain trying to make sense of it all, but it was becoming oh so clear now.  
He could see it playing out in his mind as if he was the spectator of a film.

Crowley and Cas had cooked up this little scheme. Who had recruited who, at this point was of no importance.

Crowley had wanted the Alphas in order to get the location of Purgatory from them, by whatever means necessary.

Castiel had done his bit by bringing back Samuel, one of the most experienced hunters of all to track them down. Why not include Sam too, with the advantage of his strong young body, intelligence and capability with computerised research to partner the elder and cover him in his hunts.

The angel, when he’d gone to pull out Sam from the Cage, something which was completely doable, for the Cage had been constructed to keep archangels imprisoned, not humans or human souls, had first conversed with Michael through the bars.  
That’s when Sam had seen him.

Michael had explained to Castiel the rarity of Sam's hybrid soul, but that Lucifer wouldn’t be in the least bit happy to let Sam out of his clutches, after the trick he’d pulled on him at Stull Cemetery.

In the end they’d come to a compromise. Castiel could take Sam's body with all his hunting experience and physical capabilities intact, to flank Samuel, Lucifer would keep Sam's soul to torture and vent his spleen upon as he wished.

The only wild card in the plan was Dean.  
Eventually the older Winchester would’ve realised that Sam without his soul wasn't his normal self, for no-one knew his brother as intimately as Dean did!  
Castiel would have to make sure that the two never met.

The angel had probably hoped Dean's new life with Lisa and Ben would distracted his mind from the fate of his brother and leave him, if not ecstatically happy, then at least contented with his lot.

The best of plans never go as smoothly as expected however and after a year, fate would have it that the two brothers encountered each other and soulless or not, Sam felt drawn to his sibling, choosing to stay near him.

For Dean, with the appearance of his little brother, any hope of a "normal" life with Lisa and Ben was consigned to oblivion.  
Dean lived and died only for Sam. It was a fact of life, unchangeable in the scheme of things.

Then Dean himself, continuing his own personal recounting of the facts, had put a spanner in the works by intervening with Death who for reasons known only to himself, had granted Dean's wish to get Sam's soul out of the Cage, and in so doing had upset the Heavenly–Hellish duo's plans.

Dean's virtual re-enactment of the whole affair was eerily accurate, and the look he got from Sam who had been listening in to everything Dean had been thinking, was in perfect agreement with his brother.

 

There was just one thing niggling Dean ever since Visyak had started giving out information.  
How did she know all this stuff about Purgatory when even Michael hadn't known, and Crowley and Castiel were reduced to torturing Alphas just to get their hands on some skimpy details?

He turned to stare at the woman.  
She definitely knew more than she was saying, a lot, lot, more and he was going to get it out of her, the easy way or the hard!  
He hadn't been Alastair's prize pupil for nothing and where Sam's well-being was concerned, nothing was sacred.

"How do you know all this, Dr Visyak?" Dean asked, his tone cold and uncompromising.  
She kept her eyes averted as he waited rigidly for an answer.  
Dean qualified his previous question with a threat. "Be certain you will tell me, Doctor, one way or another. The choice is yours."

§ Dean.! §  
§ Keep out of this Sam. She needs to tell us what she knows. §  
§ Threatening her probably isn't the best way, Dean! §  
§ Let's try it my way first, if it doesn't work, I'll leave her to your puppy power. §

Strangely enough it did work, and Dean sent out an ‘I told you so’ to his brother,  
With a sigh Visyak poured out the whole story and left her audience flabbergasted to find themselves in the presence of a real live escapee from the mythical Purgatory.

Bobby remained silent, assimilating what he’d just heard while Sam was torn between awe at this whole new abundance of information, and fear that his soul might finish up in the hands of Crowley and Castiel!

Dean was the only one who had no fucking fascination with the newly revealed Purgatory info.  
Someone wanted to tear Sam's soul from his body and use his brother's essence for a stupid spell to open a can of worms full of monster souls.  
What if the master plan to divide the souls between the two conspirators didn't come off as planned? What would happen to the Earth if the monsters ran rampage here?  
For the umpteenth time, he wondered just where the original God had disappeared to.  
Joshua had told them He was on Earth but the way the dangers were raining down on His world recently, humans might not be around for long.

 

"Eleanor, what you've told us is difficult to believe but either you're some mad woman escaped from an asylum and I don't believe that for a minute, or you're telling the truth."  
Eleanor answered Bobby in the most eloquent way possible, as her face took on a purple and black coloured hue and her eyes turned red.  
"Okay," Bobby nodded. "I'm convinced." And he remembered uncomfortably the time passed with her, never realising what she was...!

 

Sam turned and made his way over to the large bay-window which looked on to the front garden, still shocked by what Castiel had wanted his soul for.  
He’d always known the angel didn't really like him, though Castel had never come right out and said it, just as he knew that Cas had a soft spot for Dean, something Sam had been happy about.

It was a relief to him that Dean could count on someone other than himself, and he’d prayed when his big brother was left on his own, after Sam's topple into the Cage, that Cas would keep an eye on him, guardian angel style.  
"Yeah,” he thought, "Cas kept an eye on him alright but for all other reasons."

 

He heard Dean coming up behind him.  
§ Don't worry Sammy. Nothing’s going to happen to you, I swear. Those two douche-bags are going to get what's coming to them. §

§ I wish I had your certainty, Dean. There are so many ways they can get their hands on me. I can't live holed up in Bobby's panic room for ever. §

§ Don't be so pessimistic, bro. Even if it does come to that I won't let you miss out on anything. I'm sure lots of chicks would love to come visit you down there. §

§ Dean, you're incorrigible but thanks for trying to cheer me up! §  
Sam's affection washed over him and made him even more determined to take down any one who threatened his little brother.

§ Dean, I hope no-one tracked us here because we're pretty defenceless against Cas or Crowley. §  
§ Nah. Bobby covered our tracks the whole way after we left Sioux Falls. §

 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
"Well, well, well, this must be my lucky day. I come looking for the dear Doctor here and what do I find gift-wrapped for me but the two little Winchester boys."  
Dean felt his back bouncing off the wall before he was definitely stuck to it like a butterfly on a pin.  
He saw Sam and Bobby end up the same way.

§ You were saying Dean! § Sam’s mind-voice dripped with sarcasm.  
§ Okay, okay, you don't have to rub it in Sasquatch. For a moment there I thought that the Winchester bad luck had decided to take a little vacation! §  
§ Humph! § Sam's huff came through loud and clear.

 

Crowley sauntered over to Sam.  
"My heavenly sidekick will be so happy to have you back under his tuition again, my moose friend. We were both heart-broken when you shunned our hospitality and left so suddenly.  
You must tell us how you managed that little trick, Dean," he said, turning his attention to the older Winchester, "but we'll leave that little story for later."

"Castiel. Get down here. I've got a surprise for you."  
A rustling of wings announced the angel's arrival.  
"We just got lucky, partner. Two Winchesters for the price of one."

 

Castiel moved towards Dean who was silent, waiting for the angel to speak first. Which he did.

"Dean, you do cannot know how sorry I am it has come to this. I do not want to hurt you. I pulled you from Hell and there is a bond between us it would be a pity to break.  
I wish you could understand what I am doing is for the greater good. I must win the war in Heaven but I can't without the energy of the Purgatory souls.  
Your brother's soul is the catalyst needed to supply the unique energy to complete the spell and open the door.

"Don't give me that "we have a bond" garbage!” Dean spat out. “You want to take Sammy's soul and use it like a bomb in your little spell to open Purgatory. You must be out of your dick mind!  
I'm just too pissed to go through the whole treachery thing again, so all I'll say is this. If you touch Sam's soul, Heaven and Hell combined won't be enough to stop me taking out my vengeance on you both, so I'd think twice about what you're going to do if I were you!"

"Dean, " was Castiel's reproachful reply. "You are a mere mortal and there is nothing you can do against the hosts of Heaven or even the hordes of Hell for that matter, and though I cherish our bond, it cannot stand in my way.  
I'm sorry there is no other option but rest assured I will leave you Sam's body, and even without his soul, he is still your brother and can in some way be a comfort to you"

"I'm not going to waste any more breath threatening you Cas! I've already told you what I’ll do if you lay a finger on Sam's body or his soul. Go ahead at your own risk! "  
Dean's voice was inhumanly calm. Anyone else would’ve been terrorized by it; in fact, even Crowley seemed to be slightly less sure of himself.

Sam remained silent. Dean had the stage and he was royally pissed. What was there to say anyway?  
If Cas didn't listen to Dean, then there was no hope in Hell of him paying any attention whatsoever to him.

"Dean," Cas continued, sincerely wanting Dean to understand his reasons, but only managing to sink deeper and deeper into the quicksand of Dean's bottomless anger, with his careless words.  
"You are better off without your brother, he is infected with demon blood. You on the other hand are destined to Heaven. You are Michael's chosen vessel and a righteous man, while Sam is Lucifer's vessel, tainted and destined to Hell.  
Think of your own soul and leave Sam to his fate."

So, saying, Cas moved towards Sam, rolling up the sleeve of his coat as he did just before plunging it into someone's chest. A black bag similar to the one Death had used, was being held open by one of Crowley minions.

 

§ Dean. § Sam's voice rolled into his brother's mind bringing with it an outpouring of love and consolation.  
§ Look after yourself. It doesn't matter about me. Maybe this is how it was all supposed to end. §

 

At Sam’s words, a spasm streaked through Dean, his entire body quivered, filling with an unknown energy. He suddenly felt infinitely powerful and the onlookers watched in awe as his eyes took on an electric blue hue.

Pushing away from the wall, he held out his right arm, as first Castiel and then Crowley exploded into a million little pieces.  
The minions who had accompanied their leaders disappeared in the blink of an eye and Dean collapsed to the floor in a boneless heap, under the stunned eyes of Sam, Bobby and Visyak.

 

§ Dean, Dean, § Sam's voice reverberated over and over in his skull, as he came to his senses, his brother's damp tears dripping onto his face.  
§ Dean! Thank God! Are you all right? §  
§ What happened, Sam? I feel as if I've been run over by a truck. §  
§ I don't know. You came off the wall like a fury, your eyes turned blue, then you raised your right arm and blasted Cas and Crowley to kingdom come. All the others disappeared too, probably frightened out of their wits by your little display. §

Dean looked up into his brother's concerned eyes.  
§ I told you I'd save you, Sammy, § his mind-voice smirked. § Even if I haven't a clue how I did it! §

tbc


	14. Chapter 14

The four regrouped around the table in Visyak's ample kitchen, the incredible events of the past hour still fresh in their minds.  
The only one who couldn't remember everything was Dean.

The last thing he recalled was Cas rolling up his sleeve in anticipation of pulling out Sam's soul, then nothing, until he woke up to Sam hovering over him, calling his name.  
The others had told him what they’d witnessed but it didn't prompt his memory in any way.

 

§ Dean, you looked like an avenging angel when you attacked Cas and Crowley, at least what my idea of an avenging angel would be…! §  
§ I don't want to know Sam! All that interests me is that you're safe and sound, soul and all, and that Cas and Crowley aren't around to give us any more trouble, for the moment anyway!  
We know that coming back from the dead isn't such a stretch of the imagination in our line of business, so we'd better stay on alert! §

§ Amen to that, Dean. I'm not in the least anxious to see their faces again either. However, I'm sorry you had to do, well... whatever it was you did, to Cas!  
I know he was your friend. §

 

§ "Was," being the operative word, Sammy-boy.  
Once I… no… we, said we’d die for Cas and it was true because we've put our lives on the line over and over, and been hurt and nearly killed for total strangers.  
That's our job, so we would've done it for Cas too, but he'd better hope he’s dead for if I ever see him again, I'll make sure he'll beg for oblivion to put him out of the misery I'll put him through.  
He wanted to destroy your soul Sammy! § was Dean's desperate mind cry.

§ You would have disappeared from the cycle of Creation as if you'd never existed. All I’d have been left with was Robo-Sam, a small consolation, like having a doll instead of the real live person. And when your body died there would have been nothing of you left. So, don't waste your energies being sorry for Cas. He made his own choices and he chose wrong! §

Dean's mind voice came through every bit as unyielding as his vocal one and it convinced Sam to the truth of what his big brother was saying.

 

Just then Bobby's phone trilled, bringing them out of their exclusive telepathic exchange, and the brothers looked on curiously as Bobby nodded his way through the call, the person at the other end obviously keeping up a continuous stream of conversation.

 

Finally, Bobby managed to get a word in edgeways.  
"Okay! I'll ask them but I don't know if they will. It's not exactly their scene.  
Persuade them? You must be joking! They're the two most stubborn creatures on the planet! Anyways we don't have the clothes for that sort of shindig.  
Well, I'll get back to you. Yeah, I'll let you know." And with that he closed the communication.

 

Two inquisitive sets of eyes met his as he turned towards the boys, pocketing his phone.  
"Anyone we know?" enquired Dean.

"It was Matt. He wanted to invite us to one of the Hollywood parties he's holding in his L.A. mansion. Said he heard we were in California, right on his doorstep."

Sam pursed his lips, his forehead crinkling up in thought. "How did he know we were in this area?"

"Well, California IS his territory; he probably gets to hear everything that's going on around here. You boys interested on goin' or not? He wants an answer pronto." Bobby said, expecting a negative response.

 

To everyone's surprise, especially Sam's, Dean chipped in.  
"Dude, the Wayne Mansion, of course we're interested!"

"Dean, what are you saying? You hate parties!" Sam commented aghast.  
"When did I ever say that, Sam? I love parties," he stated with emphasis.

Sam looked over at Bobby who just shrugged his shoulders, no longer surprised by anything these two said or did.

"I wonder if he's got a "Hunter-Cave" you know like the Bat-Cave but snazzier.  
He's sure to have a major-domo, and wouldn't it be cool if he has a lift down to it and a secret exit!"  
Dean beamed at the other occupants of the room, his mouth half-open, eyes alight with anticipation and an expression of glee on his face.

Sam stared back at him exasperated.  
"Dean, please..., enough! If you don't stop right now I'm gonna bundle you back into the car and drive non-stop back to Sioux Falls!  
We have nothing to wear to something like that! I don't expect monster-goo spotted jeans and threadbare flannel shirts are the in-thing at a famous producer's parties."

"Well," Bobby said. "Matt says he keeps a wardrobe of clothes especially for his guests and he's sure we'll find something suitable there."

§ There you go Sam. No problem! § Dean's satisfied smirk invaded his mind and Sam simply shook his head at his unpredictable brother.

 

A day later they found themselves in LA.

Bobby had emphatically declined Matt's invitation, preferring to spend some time with Eleanor, hoping to get as much information as possible from her about the whole Purgatory business.  
She'd remained shaken at what had occurred in her home, afraid she’d now be a target for hunters and supernatural beings of every kind. She was, after all, the only ex-inhabitant of purgatory around.  
They spent the time discussing the problem, enjoying each another's company and somehow to Bobby the return to Sioux Falls didn't seem quite so urgent!

 

Dean's childish excitement for the whole party thing still hadn't worn off and it caused Sam to glance at him incredulously.  
§ Sam, you don't have to keep tabs on me. I'm not going mad. I just feel good. I nearly lost you the other day and I want to celebrate. Is that too hard for you to accept? §

 

At Dean's answer, Sam felt like a shitty idiot. His brother was happy, a state difficult for them to achieve in their line of business and here he was ruining it for him by his constant scrutiny.

However, he couldn't wait for tonight. At least Dean would finally get to see the "Wayne Mansion" as he called it and they could finally put California and "Batman-Matt" in their rearview mirror.  
They were expected at the venue around seven. That would give them time to kit out before the party and Sam swore to himself his big brother was going to have a great night!

The mansion was just as impressive as Dean's fervid imagination had led him to expect.  
§ Wow, Sam! Look at that! § he exclaimed in awe.  
tbc


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers go to a party.

The place was huge.  
Matt had said to drive around to the back which gave easy access to the wardrobe room. There they could pick out whatever they needed for the party.

They’d just gotten out of the car when their host exited the door to greet them, warmly shaking each of the brothers' hands.

"Guys! Glad you decided to come. I got a little curious about you after that episode in Van Nuys, so I rustled up some info and it seems you Winchesters boys are pretty dang famous amongst our little brotherhood of hunters!"

"Yeah? Famous in a good way, I hope?" Dean parried, having no intention of dividing any information with Matt. Even though he’d saved their asses, they knew very little about him and Dean had learned not to trust easily, for when he had, it had mostly come back to bite him.

However, there was something about Matt Valerio which instilled confidence, and Dean searched for confirmation from his brother.  
§ Whatcha’ think, Sammy? §  
§ He reminds me a little of Dad. It's the eyes or the beard or something. I can't quite put my finger on it but I think he's legit, though I'll reserve judgement until I know him better. §

§ Wise and logical Spocky-Sammy as always! Come on, dude. We're gonna have a sweet night. I bet this place will fill up with a bevy of hot actress chicks before long. §  
Sam just huffed exasperatedly through the link.

 

And so it was that many heads, female but also male, turned to stare as the two tall, handsome, newcomers caused a stir amongst the habitués of his evenings when they entered Matt's party-room, dressed in borrowed clothes, but looking every inch the "special two" they were.

 

As soon as Matt spotted them, he came rigth over.  
"Welcome, boys! Come right on in and make yourselves at home."

§ Dean, just what have you gotten us into? I freaking hate these shindigs § Sam lamented as a plethora of eyes turned towards them.  
§ How can you hate them if you've never been to one? §  
§ What about the one with Bela? I had to suffer through all that groping just for you to grab a mummified hand. §  
§ Now, now, Sammy. If I remember correctly, you had a great evening in the company of a delicious young lady. §

Sam quickly recomposed his expression from the bitch-face he was about to hit his brother with and gave Matt a luminous smile.

"Thanks for the invitation, Matt. It's a very interesting place you've got here."  
Sam’s innate good manners came to the fore, even if his instinct was to turn around and head back out the door.  
His goo-spotted jeans and flannel shirts seemed a thousand times preferable to the evening suit he was currently wearing, but he tagged along in defeat as Matt continued.  
"Come on, I'll introduce you to some people," their host smiled.

Dean hadn't been wrong about the girls though, and both brothers threw appreciative glances from under their eyelashes as Matt led them through the room. Well Sam did, for Dean didn't bother hiding his avid interest at the abundance of pretty little actresses.

 

Their host led them over to a young woman deep in conversation with an older lady.  
"Joan, my dear, I want you to meet two young friends of mine. They don't know anyone and maybe you could show them around."

Dean 's smile widened as she turned towards them, reckoning that he wouldn't have to bother working the room to find female companionship, but his smile faltered a little when she answered warmly.  
"I'd love to Uncle Matt."

§ Serves you right, Dude! § was Sam's smirky mental jibe.  
§ Shut up, Sam. There are plenty of fish in the sea. §  
§ Yeah and there's plenty of fishermen too, § he answered as he took in the number of men of all ages who were wandering around with probably the same intentions as Dean had!  
"Sam, Dean, this is my niece Joan. She'll show you around. I'll get back to you later."

She might have been Matt's niece but she certainly wasn't blind and the two Winchester boys cut an eye-catching figure.  
Taking her uncle's request to heart, one Winchester tucked under each arm, she introduced them to a seemingly unending stream of curious and appreciative guests.

 

An hour into the kermis, Sam couldn't stomach any more.  
It was downright scary how his brother had taken to the whole scene like a duck to water, giving as good as he got, flashing toothy insincere smiles with the best of them, but for Sam it was tiring to have to keep up the appearance of enjoying himself when the opposite was true.

He smiled and small-talked his way to one of the open patio doors which led into the garden and with a relieved sigh lost himself in the shadow of the mansion's high walls.  
He spotted some benches scattered around on the perfectly trimmed lawn and flopped thankfully down on the nearest, amazed at how in the semi-darkness he felt more at home than in the brightness of the huge ballroom.

"I suppose it's not that strange," he mused, "darkness and evil is what our lives have been all about."  
He loosened his tie and opened the first button of the perfectly starched shirt.

 

§ Sam? Where have you disappeared to? I can't see your gigantor body towering over people any more. Everything, okay? §  
Sam huffed to himself. Overprotective big brothers can be a pain.  
Since he'd gotten his soul back, Dean had been like a Doberman and the little scene the other day when he'd collapsed, had only upped his mother-henning to the nth power.

§ I'm just getting a breath of fresh air, Dean. I'm fine. §  
§ Come on, man, if you're not having a good time, we'll blow the joint. We've been here long enough already. §  
§ I said, I'm fine, Dean. I'll be back in a few minutes. You haven't seen Matt's bat cave yet so we can't leave, § he joked.

Sam knew Dean was serious. If he thought his little brother was really unhappy he would’ve left in a second but Sam had wanted Dean to have a good time and it was a pledge he’d every intention of keeping.

 

He relaxed, enjoying the quiet of the garden, but it wasn’t long until all his senses went on alert, as he picked up a faint rustling in the bushes.  
Maybe it was just a squirrel making its way home but such an easy explanation was not in the Winchester rule book.  
And as fate would have it...

 

"Hello, handsome. Sitting out here all alone can't be very amusing."  
"Meg!"

Sam should’ve felt threatened but he’d been around her long enough to know she wasn't giving off danger vibes.

"What do you want, Meg or is this just a social visit?" he asked calmly.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend? How long’s it been now? Around six years since we first met at that bus station?  
You were a real little cutie. I almost got my hands on you that day, but Deano always came first even back then. An unanswered call and you go off to save him. It wasn't very gentlemanly of you to dump me like that, " she pouted insincerely.

"What do you want? " Sam repeated.  
"Not too friendly are we, Sammy?"  
"It's Sam to you."

She studied Sam's stony face.  
"Very well, seeing you're not in a receptive mood, I'll get right to the point. I just thought I'd pop in to thank you."

This time Sam's face did change expression, taking on a look of surprise.  
"Thank me…?"

 

Dean's icy voice echoed in the balmy evening air, talking the temperature down a couple of notches.  
"Get away from my brother! "

§ Dean, no! It's okay. She isn't here to do us any harm. §  
§ Right, and you know that how, Sam? §  
§Trust me on this one, Dean. She's here to tell us something. §

At his brother's words, Dean relaxed from attack mode but came over to stand behind Sam who was still seated on the bench.

"Dean, what a pleasure!" She sashayed over to him, practically purring. "I have such a lot to thank you for."  
"Oh really," Dean cocked his head at her sarcastically.

"You know it's all over Hell how you took out Crowley the other day. The demons who witnessed your little show were very impressed, or maybe I should requalify that to 'scared shitless'.  
Hell was in an uproar, but you know how it is. 'The King is dead, long live the King' or the Queen in this case," as she indicated herself with her hands.

"Whaat…! You, Queen of Hell?" Sam declared, incredulous.

"That's right, boys and it's all thanks to you! I owe you one, but when you've collected the truce is over.  
By the way, reliable sources tell me the disappearance of a certain angel has left the heavenly hosts in a quandary too, but I'm sure Raphael won't have any trouble overcoming what's left of Castiel's followers now that he's gone.  
Although I did hear Raphael's still big on the Apocalypse idea.  
Anyway, sorry to leave you two handsome dudes on your own but I'm sure there's no shortage of females mooning over you in that den of iniquity."  
She nodded towards the mansion.

"You know where a good half of THEM will end up, don't you?" she smirked.  
"Well it's been nice catching up and all but my royal duty calls," and she disappeared from sight leaving the brothers looking at each other stunned.

Sam was the first to find his voice  
§ She's right about one thing, that little stunt you pulled the other day has definitely put the cat amongst the pigeons. §

§ You know, what, Sam? § was Dean's emphatic reply.  
§ I don't give a shit! The only person I care about is sitting right here in front of me with his soul and his body in one piece. The rest of them can piss off.  
I tell you Sam, demons I get. They're evil and you know where you stand with them, but that lot in Heaven…...!  
I thought angels were supposed to be the good guys, but they're no better than demons, just more self-righteous! §

§ Dean….! §

§ I said I don't care Sam and I don't. I just want to save as many people as possible, while taking down as many evil sons of bitches as we can.  
Now, little brother, get your skinny ass back in there. I want to see a hot chick hanging off each of your freakishly long arms and legs.  
I have to admit Sam, that at least Soulless-you knew how to work a room full of women, §

He raised his arm to halt Sam's ready reply  
§ And as you're forever reminding me he was still YOU, then his girl power must be in there somewhere. So, get to it! §

 

Funnily enough, Dean's little pep-talk must've worked, as later he caught sight of Sam chatting animatedly to a pretty girl at the bar.  
"That's my boy," he grinned to himself, keeping his mind wall up to leave Sam his privacy. Then he turned his full attention to the two delectable little starlets who were hanging onto his arms.

 

 

Matt wouldn't hear of them going off to a motel for the rest of the night, so Sam and Dean found themselves in two luxurious bedrooms, separated but not alone, as they both had company for the night.

Dean sent out a tentative tendril of thought to Sam's mind, but he pulled back quickly when he felt his brother's pleasure vibes coming through the link. Instead, he dedicated himself to giving the curvaceous bodies at his side the most memorable night of their lives.  
tbc


	16. Chapter 16

The sun had already completed half its daily journey through the brilliant blue sky when the Winchester brothers awoke from their coma-like sleep.  
Dean looked around for his delectable partners of the night before, but dolefully realised he was the only remaining occupant of the plush bed.

Mm, he thought to himself, if this had been the treatment he’d gotten in Heaven instead of the painful memories Zachariah had subjected him to, he’d have signed up for an extended stay in God's country.  
The only memory he recalled with fondness, was the one with little Sammy. He’d forgotten how cute and hero-worshipping the kid had been back when he was ten.  
§ I'm still cute, Dean, though the hero-worship got lost along the way, § bantered Sam's mind-voice.

§ Dude, who invited you in? Those were private thoughts! §

§ You had the door wide open, Dean, so I just walked in. §

§ Yeah, well sometimes I forget that I have a nosy eavesdropping little brother. §

§ We can agree to bolt the doors if you prefer, § Sam teased, knowing well that his brother revelled in their link as much as he did.

§ Shut up, Sammy. If we didn't have this link, I’d be going crazy trying to keep tabs on your disappearing ass, something you seem to have taken out a subscription to. I swear every fugly on the planet seems to make a bee-line for you!  
I'll probably have to come and rescue you from the Moon one day, as soon as the aliens get to hear about you! §

§ What can I say; I'm a popular guy, Dean! § Sam ironically countered.

 

By this time Dean's stomach had begun a copious series of rumblings, reminding him it needed some attention.

A half hour later, showered in the annexed mega bathroom, and dressed in the clothes they’d arrived in, found folded on a dresser by the side of their respective beds, washed and ironed as if by magic, the two brothers made their way towards the kitchen, the aroma of food steering them in the right direction.  
There didn't seem to be anyone around and any signs of the extensive party of the night before had been completely eliminated.

 

"Ah, there you are!" Matt's jovial voice called to them from one of the doorways.  
"I thought you two were going to sleep until tomorrow! Come on, I'll take you through to the breakfast-room. I bet you worked up an appetite last night. Some young ladies seemed particularly enthusiastic when they took their leave this morning."

"Yeah, well, that worked both ways," Dean acknowledged, rather embarrassed to have his night's activities discussed so openly by a near stranger.  
"Thanks for the great evening Matt but we're rather anxious to get on our way. We have to get our car back, hoping she's still there where we left her," he continued.

"Of course, boys, but a hearty breakfast will help you on your way," replied Matt as he ushered them into the room where a table replenishd with food waited invitingly.  
Over the breakfast table, Dean decided he’d ask the question he had been carrying with him since hearing about this unusual hunter.

"Matt, Bobby told us you were a hunter and you proved that by pulling out asses out of Van Nuys, but just how do you manage to pull off being a mega Hollywood producer at the same time?

Matt drew in a sigh. "I suppose you could look on it as a sort of secret identity."  
"Oh no!" Sam groaned profoundly, knowing it would set his impressionable brother off again.

"When my ancestor fled from Rome, he settled in the New World. The family just seemed to acquire riches as the generations succeeded themselves and we ended up like this," he indicated his surroundings,  
"But we never gave up hunting and trying to save those in need or in danger. Once you know about the supernatural, it's difficult to forget about the lives your knowledge can help save."

The brothers nodded. They knew the feeling too well.

"This ground has belonged to my family since the first Valerio came out to California and we've just built on to the original house that was here. If you boys have finished eating I'll show you around," he volunteered.

Sam grinned at the eager look on Dean's face.

In the end, all of Dean's fantasies were fulfilled, for Matt did indeed have a lift that went down into a cavern-like cantina where his equipment was stored, along with a black SUV, another couple of anonymous vehicles and all the other paraphernalia for the perfect hunter.   
There was even a camouflaged door which led on to a little private road out back, hidden from the overlooking windows of the house.

Sam looked on fondly as his big brother gloried in the total Batman-ness of it all, glad to see him enjoying himself.

"One last thing Matt" Dean asked cocking his head in bird-like enquiry, as he and Sam were in the car ready to put Hollywood in their rearview mirror, "Just how did you take down all the demons guarding the warehouse?"

"Ah, son," Matt smiled back slyly, "every hunter has secrets he doesn't want to share. I'll bet you two have a list as long as your arm!"

§ Touché, Dean. He's got you there! § Sam's smirk came through loud and clear.

Dean dipped his head in acknowledgement of Matt's words, before he put the car into drive and hit the road back to his Baby.

 

As luck would have it the Impala was exactly where she’d been parked, in the yard of the university in which Dr Visyak had held her lectures.

Dean drew up beside the black car and practically threw himself at her, causing Sam to shake his head in amusement at his brother's enthusiasm.  
§ Dude, what's come over you? These last few days you seem like Mr. Happy. You're oozing goodwill and joy from every pore. I hardly recognise you as my brother any more, § he teased

§ Well, I sure recognise you, Sammy! When you've nothing to bitch about you don't know what to do with yourself. §

"Oh, Baby, it's so good to see you again," he cooed as he ran a hand over her smooth lines. "As soon as we get back to Bobby's I'm gonna get you all prettied up, sweetheart."  
Slipping into the driving seat, he could've sworn he felt a welcoming vibe under his butt as it sank down into the leather

Sam transferred their few belongings into the Impala's trunk, but he’d have to wait before taking up position at Dean's side

They didn't want to leave behind the car they’d driven from California, the one which Matt had given them the night of their escape.  
Matt had told Bobby to keep it, and it could always come in useful as it was in far better condition than most of Bobby's old bangers.

A few minutes later the two cars roared out of the university grounds, one behind the other, their wheels pointed towards Sioux Falls.

 

§ Dean. §  
Sam's voice buzzed annoyingly into Dean's head as he drove along, immersed in his blaring music and in the familiar feel of his Baby surrounding him.

§ Mmm, what is it Sam? § he acknowledged offhandedly, concentrated as he was on singing loudly and heartily along, no little brother for the time being to look askance at him from the adjoining seat at his off-key rendering..

§ You know we have to talk, don't you? §  
§ Talk, Sammy-boy! We do nothing else. We're in other's minds, if you've forgotten! §  
§ Dean, you're being obtuse! You know exactly what I mean. We have to talk about that little stunt you pulled with Cas and Crowley. §

Sam felt Dean's mood change as he answered. § I told you I don't care, dude! I don't want to know! §

§ That's ridiculous Dean, you just can't ignore what happened! §

It was strange how Sam's mind-voice mirrored his vocal one, rising in tone when he got agitated or wanted to make a point, mused Dean, but what Sam had said earlier was true, he was feeling unusually carefree and he did NOT want to have to dwell on something he couldn't even remember doing anyway.

Unfortunaly Sam bit and chewed on things until he got a logical answer to whatever was occupying his thoughts, and in this case it was "how did Dean do that" day!

He sighed. It was no use fighting Sam on this.  
§ Sam, I don't even remember what happened. You tell me. I'm sure you've already cooked up a theory. Go ahead and share with the class! §

§ Well, you know we were both designed as vessels for Michael and Lucifer, so I would presume we'd have been suitably adapted to fit their specifications.  
It seems I got the demon blood from Azazel, although I'm not really sure at this point if that was part of the overall Apocalypse plan or if Azazel had acted on his own, and I was picked as one of his special children by pure coincidence.

For all we know maybe I was born with latent demon blood and powers in me already, and Azazel just activated them before their time!  
What if the same thing had been done to your body too, Dean, but as you’d never been stimulated by an angelic "Azazel," whatever angelic power you might have had, in order to be able to contain Michael, remained dormant.   
In the end, Michael never did possess you but used Adam instead.

As for how you reacted when my soul was in danger.   
Everything that has happened to me through the years has never involved the complete extermination of my soul, as Castiel and Crowley were planning to do. Perhaps that latent angelic energy in you was triggered by the potential loss of a human soul, combined with the fact that it was mine, § added Sam without false modesty.

He didn't see the point in denying something as obvious as the certainty that HIS soul being the one threatened would only make Dean a billion times more motivated to save it.

Dean contemplated the theory his brother had formulated and recognised there could be a thread of truth in it.

 

He cast his mind back for a moment to the trip Castiel had sent him on, to witness first-hand what had set the whole Azazel affair in motion, and an icy feeling came over him as he considered it all again.

Azazel had known nothing about the Winchesters back then!  
It had been Dean himself who had first brought the young Mary to the demon's attention by following a lead in John's journal, causing them to show up in exactly the place Azazel was going to be; the house of one of young Mary's friends.

Dean hadn't thought of it before, but in a way it had been Castiel's fault too. If the angel had minded his own business and hadn't been so anxious to confirm the evilness of his little brother by sending him back in time, Azazel would never have targeted Mary, and she’d never have had to make any deals in the first place.

Well, there was no point in crying over spilt milk.  
The exact truth of how everything had gone down would probably never be known, but the damage had been done, and both he, Sam and the rest of the Winchesters had paid a heavy price for everything that had happened.

§ Dean? §  
§ Yeah, Sam. I was just considering your theory, and even if you're right, where exactly does that leave us? §  
§ I don't have all the answers, Dean, § Sam huffed. § I thought you might have something to add. §

Dean didn't.  
He wanted to go back to singing along with the music, but his brother's words had subdued his carefreeness and he pondered the problem as he drove his Baby home.  
tbc


	17. Chapter 17

As per usual Bobby presented himself at the front door as soon as he heard the Impala roar into the yard.  
Sam brought up the rear, driving the car Matt Valerio had given them.

Bobby was feeling especially good. He’d spent a couple of days with Eleanor, and even though he now knew she was a monster from Purgatory, he’d still enjoyed his time with her. Maybe even monsters could learn to curb their evil side, he mused.  
She’d shared a heap of information about Purgatory, information which he was writing up into a reference book for future use.

With a chuckle, he wondered how the brothers had gotten on at Valerio's, but he knew that wherever they were, as long as they were together, their world was in harmony.  
Bobby had never seen two brothers so tied up in each other like the Winchesters and he knew he never would again, though he asked himself how healthy that was!  
He took off his cap, scratched a particularly itchy spot on his scalp, and with a sigh put it back in its place. These two would be the death of him one day!

 

"Bobby," they greeted him in unison.  
"Boys! How was L.A.?”  
"Great, Bobby. You should have seen the girls," Dean grinned, as he clapped a hand on his sibling's shoulder. "We even got Sammy here hitched up with a filly for the night!"  
§ Shut up, Dean! A filly! Where did you pick that up? §

"And your hunter buddy even has a "Matt-Cave!" Dean chortled.  
§ Dean, that is just pathetic. §

Bobby must have thought so too as he stared at the smirking Dean with an incredulous expression on his face.

"Get your asses in here. I've been updating the wards and such, trying to keep at least this place safe for you two. I don't know how you manage to piss off every supernatural being out there. Now you got both angels and demons after you."

"Yeah, let's just say it's a gift, Bobby!" Dean smirked, apparently unworried.  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.  
They’d dined on Bobby's excellent but HOT curry, and Dean had sated his appetite, finishing off his dinner with the pie Bobby had bought in.

His brother was now sprawled contentedly on the sofa next to him, and Sam reckoned this was the perfect time to broach the subject they’d been discussing in the car on the way back from Matt's.

Dean's voice reverberated in his head.  
§ Dude, telepathy, remember! Do we really have to talk about this now, just when I'm feeling so good? §  
§ We're going to have to sooner or later, and now's as good a time as any to get Bobby's opinion. §  
§ Aw, Sam, no-one better than you knows how to spoil a guy's good mood, but you'll just bitch until you get your way, so go on. §

Sam waited until Bobby ambled out of the kitchen into the sitting room.  
"You got time to talk, Bobby? Any theories about what happened back at Eleanor's place?"

Bobby had been wanting to bring up the matter himself but he’d decided to hang on and see if the brothers mentioned it first, for if Dean wasn't in the mood to share and care, they’d get nowhere.

"Well now, Sam," Bobby began, taking the chair opposite the couch on which the two young men were seated. "We all saw what Dean did and I don't really know what to make of it. You got any ideas yourself?" he nodded towards the elder boy.

"I honestly don't know Bobby. When I saw Cas roll up his sleeve in readiness to plunge his arm into Sam's chest and take his soul, something just clicked inside me and I felt so powerful. I remember zapping Cas and Crowley and then everything went black until I woke up to Sasquatch here, dripping tears onto my face."

"Yup," confirmed Bobby. "That's more or less what happened. Now we gotta find out why."  
He glanced at Dean again. "You got any sort of explanation at all, kid?"  
"Nope, but Sam here has a theory, so I'll leave it up to him to spell it out. He's the resident geek boy."

§ Shut up, Dean §  
§What? Are you gonna deny being a geek now? §

Bobby saw the exchange of eye-rolls and bitch-faces, and realised their telepathy had kicked in, so he just waited patiently for them to remember he wasn't part of the magic circle!

"Sorry, Bobby," Sam apologised, "Dean was busy being his usual dick self and sometimes we're not aware we're using telepathy; it just comes so naturally now."

"It's okay Sam. I get it:"  
Sam nodded his thanks and began to explain his idea.

"What I think is that as Dean was designed on purpose for Michael, he might’ve been endowed with some latent angelic power at birth in order to be able to accommodate the archangel, but it never come to fruition in any way because Michael never actually possessed Dean.

As for me, I believe Azazel giving me the demon blood was a nearly impossible coincidence!  
When Cas sent Dean back in time, Azazel got the scent of Mary, our mother, through meeting Dean, and by pure accident he decided to make me one of his "special children" and in so doing my own latent demon powers were awakened early."

"Hmm. Could be," Bobby admitted, "but why did Dean's "power" manifest itself right now?"

"Well, dude," Dean broke in, "Cas was gonna destroy Sam's soul," he glanced at his brother.  
"It would’ve wiped him out of existence. If anything could’ve awakened any hidden powers I had, that would’ve been it."

§ Couldn't have that, now could we, Sammy! § He exchanged an affectionate glance with his brother.  
Sam sent back a wave of love through the link.

"Then," Sam continued, taking over from his sibling, "Dean killed Zachariah when we were in the Green Room and we were under the impression only angels could kill other angels, so how did Dean do that? He must have had some angel mojo even then!"

"Well, you minced Castiel and Crowley really well, Dean, but I'm wondering if it was just their vessels you destroyed or their angelic and demonic essences too?" Bobby asked.  
"Yeah, good question, Bobby, but even if they aren't dead; maybe they'll leave us alone now."  
"You really think that, boy? If they're still around, I bet they haven't given up on their little scheme to open Purgatory, and for that they still need Sam's nuked-up soul."

§ Over my dead body, Sam. §  
§ No way, Dean. I'll give them my soul before I let them kill you. §  
§ Then we'll just have to make sure it doesn't happen. §

Bobby huffed to himself. For now, it was better to call it a day. The two brothers had gone mind-walking and he wasn’t invited. He’d get back to writing up his notes on Purgatory.  
Who knew when they might come in useful?

 

§ Dean, do you really think Cas and Crowley will come after us again? §  
§ If they're still around, they probably will. §  
§ Then we've gotta be ready for them, Dean. §  
§ Just what do you want us to do, Sammy? §

§ My powers were meant for evil, but yours are angelic. We could try boosting them up in some way. Maybe all you need is to practise or something. §  
§ Or something, Sam? If I remember rightly you drank a few demons to death to get yours to work. I'm sorry, dude. I didn't mean to remind you, but I'm not gonna go around drinking Angel blood or anything. §

§ It's okay, Dean. I did drink demon blood. You only spoke the truth. §  
§ I said I was sorry! It wasn't your fault, Sammy. None of it was, they played us like a couple of violins but that will never happen again. I swear! §  
Sam's soothing mind-wave washed over him, comforting his older sibling.

§ Remember what Ruby said when I let Lucifer out of the Cage, Dean. She said I didn't need a feather to fly. She got me addicted to the demon blood just to keep a hold over me, but truth was I never really needed it.  
All I had to do was what Ava did, accept my power; open up to it, and maybe that's all you have to do too. §

§ Right, but what if it changes me in some way? §  
§ In the end the demon power didn't change me, so why should the angel mojo change you? §

§ Enough Sammy. We'll talk about this later. I'm going outside to give my Baby some love, and if you don't stop talking about this I'll lock you out. §  
Sam just smiled. Dean wouldn't do that. Their link was just too awesome, but he knew when his brother had reached his limit, and this was it.  
tbc


	18. Chapter 18

Next morning early, Sam was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. He had the coffee already in the cups, knowing Dean would soon be joining him.

It was strange how their sleeping habits were changing along with their telepathy. Before, he used to be the one who slept badly, always tormented by nightmares and guilty feelings of one kind or another, while Dean could sleep through a brass band playing next to the bed.  
Now things seemed to have levelled out, Sam slept much better, while Dean woke when he did or shortly after.

Sure enough, a moment later his brother came strolling lazily into the kitchen, eyes still heavy with sleep.

‘What's for breakfast, Sam? Sleeping sure makes you work up an appetite.’  
Sam only snorted. ‘The day you don't have an appetite, is the day I'll start to get worried.’  
‘Aw, come on, dude, I don't eat all that much!’

Sam didn't bother answering, he just shoved a cup of coffee under his brother's nose and continued with what he was doing. Making pancakes was no easy feat!

He was so concentrated that he wasn't paying attention to whatever it was Dean was going on about, a fact which obviously pissed his brother off, for he was just about deafened by Dean's mind voice.  
§ Sammy, are you listening to a word I'm saying? §

Taken by surprise, the knife Sam was using to cut the bread, nicked his finger.  
‘Ow, Dean, now look what you've done,’ he huffed, turning on the tap to rinse his bloody digit.

‘Dude, I didn't do anything, I was only trying to talk to you! Let me see.’

He got up from the table to examine the cut. ‘All that fuss for a little scratch! You really are a princess, Sammy.’  
‘Be quiet Dean! If it was you, you'd be moaning about it all day.’  
‘Well, I'm more delicate, Sam. You know that, don't you? I got to keep myself in prime condition for all those chicks out there,’ he grinned as he took his seat again, having verified it was indeed only a nick.

‘Well, now that you've got my attention, Dean, just what was so important?’

‘I've been thinking. I'll give it a go.’  
‘What?’  
‘The whole angel mojo thing. I figure we got to be able to protect ourselves now that the stakes are higher.’

§ Protect ourselves, or protect me, Dean? §  
§ You're the one with the weirdo soul they need, so I guess I don't just have to protect your butt now, but that too. §  
§ Thanks for the vote of confidence, dude. I'm overwhelmed by the trust you have in me to look after myself §  
Sam's virtual bitch-face came through the link.

§ Well, it wasn't me Cas was gonna penetrate with that arm of his. I wonder if the guy ever takes a shower, by the way.  
Who knows how many germs he could've passed on to your future soulless self if he’d gotten away with it! §

§ I don't know why I even listen to you anymore, Dean! The older you get, the more of a moron you become! §  
§ That's why you love me Sammy! §

 

That's how Bobby found them when he strolled into the room, well not exactly strolled, more shuffled. Going by the bags under his eyes, he hadn't been to bed last night.  
'Morning Bobby,’ Sam smiled. ‘There's some fresh coffee if you want it.’  
‘You look as if a train ran you over,’ was Dean's encouraging observation as Bobby sat down opposite him.

"Yeah, well, all that Purgatory stuff was pretty interesting and I didn't realise the whole night had passed. I wanted get it all written up and put safely away in the panic room.’

‘Thanks, Sam,’ Bobby acknowledged when he was presented with a steaming cup of black liquid. ’Did no-one ever say you make a good coffee, son?"  
‘Well, no.’ Sam eyed his brother. ‘Dean usually bitches about it.’

§ Dude, if I tell you it's good, you'll never stop crowing! §  
§ Jerk! §  
§ Bitch! §

‘So, did you boys talk more about the….. power stuff?’ Bobby asked.

'Yeah. I've been thinking about it and I'm going to have a go. Sam thinks if I do manage to get it working, it shouldn't affect me in a bad way, just as his demon powers haven't changed him,’ Dean answered.

§ You're still the prissy girl you always were, Sammy! §  
§ How often am I going to have to tell you to shut up, Dean? §

"Well, fine,' Bobby drawled. 'If Sam thinks it's safe, that's good enough for me. He's been through it and is our resident expert.'  
He wondered to himself just what the Hell these two would come up with next. It wouldn't surprise him if they grew wings and flew!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
The morning sun was casting shadows amongst the piles of old cars when the brothers strolled outside. They kept themselves near the building however, so as to be in the protection range of Bobby's wards.

‘Okay, resident expert. what's the first thing I have to do to kick–start the angel mojo?’ Dean asked.

‘Well,' Sam considered. 'I suppose you already did that when you blasted Castiel and Crowley at Eleanor's place, so I guess it's just a question of managing to call it up whenever you want to use it.’

‘You make it sound so easy, Sammy, but just HOW am I supposed to do that?’

‘When Ruby started to show me how to get my powers working, the first thing I had to do was concentrate. Close your eyes and try to visualise the power as a ball or a wave, whichever you want.’

‘How about a hot chick? That would be a good incentive!’  
‘Dean, are you even taking this seriously!’

‘Okay, Sam, okay! Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm gonna go for it.’

Dean closed his eyes, trying to imagine a ball of pulsing blue.

‘I see a ball, Sammy. Now what?’  
‘Try and throw it with your mind at a target. Start with something small like a pebble. Wait a minute.’ 

Sam fished into his jean's pocket and drew out an old coloured marble. ‘Try this.’ He rolled it onto the ground a few feet from his brother.

Dean felt as if his brains were going to burn out while he tried to concentrate on blasting the marble, but it remained stubbornly in the same spot where Sam had thrown it.

‘Are you even trying, Dean?’ Sam enquired. ‘Or are you just standing there with your eyes closed?’  
Dean opened them to glare at his brother. ‘What the fuck, Sammy! I nearly burned out my neurons trying to throw the damn blue ball. You make it sound easy.’

‘Wow, Dean, your vocabulary is improving! Neurons. I'm impressed.’  
‘Shut up bitch! You're supposed to be helping, not making fun of me!’

‘I AM trying to help. It seemed as though you weren't putting enough conviction into it. You got to really want to kick that marble in the butt, Dean. Imagine some fugly standing in front of you, a wendigo or a ghoul, and try again.’

But as much as Dean forced himself, the marble didn't move.

Sam tried again to motivate his brother.  
‘Your power erupted when Cas was going to hurt me, so think of someone trying to do me harm.’ Sam egged him on. ‘Some demon cutting out my heart or tearing me limb from limb or twisting a wooden stake in my heart….’

Sam stopped abruptly at the sight of the marble beginning to roll away, only to explode in a cloud of coloured glassy dust.

His brother flopped to the ground like rag-doll, but Sam wasn't worried. He remembered the first time he’d used his own power and how he too had collapsed, exhausted by the force his body needed to unleash it.  
It’d get better for Dean too. At least he’d be here for his brother, to encourage and help him, not like himself who’d been dough in the diabolically competent hands of Ruby.

 

He yanked his unconscious brother up gently and carried him into the house. Being bigger than Dean was useful sometimes!

Luckily, Bobby had gone off to bed to recuperate. By the time he came down, Dean would've gotten his forces back. There was no need to worry the older man more than necessary.

Sam arranged his brother as comfortably as he could on the couch, selected a book and sat down to wait for him to wake up.  
tbc


	19. Chapter 19

About twenty minutes later, Sam looked up as Dean stirred on the couch.  
He put down the book he'd been reading and leaned over his awakening brother.

"Dean, how're you feeling? Are you okay?"  
The older man opened his eyes slowly, his eyelids felt as heavy as lead.

"I'm good, Sammy," he whispered. "I feel as if I've been used as a punch ball by a herd of wild elephants, but other than that I'm peachy. You could’ve warned me that I’d black out like that!"

"I wasn't sure what would happen or even if your power would manifest itself," his brother replied.

"Whatever it was, it sure made itself felt," Dean said as he tried to pull himself up.

"Just lie there. I'll get you a coffee, that'll pep you up a bit." Sam made his way to the kitchen.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, a kitten could beat me in a fight right now!"

§ Was it like that for you too? §  
§ Yeah, for the first few times, I ended up on the ground, but then it became easier, though I still got headaches and nose-bleeds but then they wore off too and, well, the demon blood made everything seem better. Drugs do I suppose, at least in the beginning before they take you over and put you in the hands of someone like Ruby! §

§ Sammy! Stop it! Stop putting yourself down! §  
§ Yeah, okay. §  
§ That's my boy. §

After he’d gulped down the coffee, Dean was feeling a little more human and could feel his energies beginning to flow back.  
"I really blasted that marble though, Didn't I, dude? I'm awesome. Batman has nothing on me!" he grinned proudly.

"Dean, have I ever told you that you're an idiot?"

"Many times, Sammy, Many times!"

"How long before I can have another go?"  
"Whenever you feel up to it. It gets better and easier the more you practise, and you can learn how to channel and regulate the strength of the flow, just like turning a tap on or off."

"Sammy," Dean hesitated, "I've never wanted to bring this up and you've never mentioned it, but is your demon mojo still there or did being in the Cage eliminate it from your system?"

Sam squirmed uncomfortably at his brother's side, the memory of how he’d been played by Ruby into releasing Lucifer was still a sore spot with him.

"I honestly don't know, Dean. I've never wanted to find out. Those powers have never brought me anything but pain and unhappiness.”

"So why are you encouraging me to use my angel mojo then?"

"That's different, Dean. You were designed to be on the side of the Angels, I for Hell." 

"If you say that again I'll use your skinny ass for target practice. The angels are bigger dicks than the demons ever were. Demons are supposed to be evil. You know where you stand with them, but the angels are every bit as bad, only they get offended if you tell them so!  
You had the ability to send demons to Hell or kill them. I’d say that's as good a power as you can get."

“Yeah, sure, Dean."

"Come on, dude. I'm feeling my awesome self again. Let's go out have another go, and you're gonna try too."

"No, Dean. I swore to myself that never again would I try to call up my powers."

"Sammy, I'm here now, not Ruby, and we're gonna need all the resources we can get. We don't know if, or how long, it will take Cas and Crowley to get their asses together, but I'm sure they'll try again. We've got to be ready for them. Both of us."

So, saying, Dean dragged his unwilling brother back out into the yard.

He tried again to concentrate without imagining Sam hurt. He certainly didn’t want to have to picture THAT every time he used this "power", but try as he may, he only managed to unleash a measure of angelic fire when he resorted to imagining his brother in danger.

Sam was sympathetic, well aware of how Dean hated to visualize him being hurt, but he assured his brother that with practice he’d manage to control it in a less traumatic way.

This time however, Dean didn't lose consciousness when he blasted the pebble, the exertion only made him fall to his knees.  
Sam yanked his brother up unceremoniously and settled him on an old bench nearby.

"How're you feeling this time, Dean? It's a step up that you didn't lose consciousness."

"Yeah, but I'm as weak as a kitten. I really showed that pebble who's boss though!" he whispered weakly. "I'm awesome."

"Right, Dean. It was a worthy opponent for "Deanman!" Sam said, rolling his eyes dramatically.

He made to sit down next to his exhausted brother, but Dean stopped him.

§ Uh, Uh, Sam § Dean's mind- voice came over every bit as fatigued as his normal one. § It's your turn. Call up your demon splattering mojo. §  
Sam didn't answer, his gaze was fixed on the pile of mangled cars in front of him.

§ Come on, man! Nothing bad is gonna happen to you while I'm around. §

Sam remembered when his brother had first spoken those words years ago, before destiny had thrown them both to the wolves. Nevertheless, it was true. When his big brother was around, nothing bad had happened to him. It was when he wasn't around that it did.

He sighed. More to please Dean than anything else, he stood up.

§ You know that I can't send a demon back to Hell if I don't have one in front of me, Dean, § Sam reminded him § but I'll see if I can call back the essence of the power. §

He searched his mind for the hidden corner in which he’d pushed down all memory of his demonic ability and he found it.

§ It's still there § he informed his brother.  
He closed his eyes, held out his arm while forming his hand into a fist and focusing the energy down through it.

The dust from the pebble Dean had vaporised, rose from the ground in a swirling cloud, and Sam smashed the infinitesimal specks against the pile of wrecked cars, making them wobble with the force of his energy.  
Unlike Dean however, he hadn't broken a sweat. It was as if he’d never stopped using it.  
Okay, he thought to himself. I suppose it's like riding a bike.

§ Wow, Sammy, that's awesome! You're gonna blast those demons to kingdom come. §   
His brother congratulated him through their link, but Sam could only summon up a watery smile; he didn't feel in the least bit happy. Too many bad memories.

§ C'mon, Sasquatch, I need some more food and coffee to get my strength back. §  
Sam huffed, but half dragged, half lifted his still weak brother back to Bobby's kitchen and set him down at the table.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It was afternoon when Bobby appeared. The boys heard the ancient shower kicking in and Sam prepared a very late breakfast for him.

"Sam, you're an angel!" Bobby said tucking into the food.  
Sam smiled ironically. "Can't say I ever remember anyone calling me that, Bobby!"

§ Sam! Stop it! §  
§ It’s the truth, Dean! No-one ever has! §  
§ You know what I mean, bitch. Stop putting yourself down! §

Bobby smacked his lips at the first gulp of coffee. "Did I ever tell you that you make a great cup of coffee, Sam?”   
"Yeah, Bobby, you did," Sam answered, childishly pleased by the repeated compliment.

Bolstered up by the coffee, Bobby began to talk.  
"I passed all night on those notes Eleanor gave me and you know what, it seems that there's a back door, as it were, into Purgatory."

Bobby waited for the Winchesters’ reactions. And he wasn't disappointed as they both stared at him in surprise, mouths hanging open.  
He wouldve informed them sooner of Eleanor's personal confidences to him, but he wanted to get everything written up and put away safely first, before taking on the Winchesters and their questions.  
He was getting old, one thing at a time was enough nowadays!

"Purgatory is mid-way between Heaven and Hell, and according to Eleanor, a passage links one to the other.  
A passage lost in the realms of time. She knows about it because that's how she claims she came through. She found it by chance and slipped into Hell, where she bided her time until a devil's gate opened about a century ago and got out."

"You mean Cas and Crowley don't know about this? They think the only way in is using Sam's soul?" Dean asked in amazement.

“Yup, Crowley may be a crafty old bugger but he's not great on research and Cas is short a marble or two. However, Sam's soul is still necessary if they want to open the main doors, as it were, but theoretically one could get in passing through Heaven or Hell.”

“So, they didn't come to Eleanor's because they knew about her being from Purgatory,, but just on coincidence because we were there. And to take Sam's soul," Dean continued.

Bobby nodded.

The boys meditated on what they’d been told. If it ever came to the crunch they'd have this information to barter in exchange for leaving Sam's soul intact, but Dean hoped they could get rid of the C's (if they were still around,) before it came to that!

"We've got something to tell you too Bobby," Sam said. "Dean's managed to get his angel power to work. With a little practice, he'll be throwing fire-balls all over the place."

"Sammy's demon mojo is still good to go too,” Dean added. “We’re not as defenceless as we were before.”

§ I’m so happy your soul isn't the only way into Purgatory, Sammy? § He sent a wave of contentment through their link, so strong that it made Sam break into a luminous smile, while Bobby looked on wondering what in Hell the boy was grinning at.

The End


End file.
